Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/891583
E The Delights of a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Working on Suburbicon by Karen TenEyck, Graphic Designer In August of 2016, I began working on the dark tragi-comedy Suburbicon, written by Joel and Ethan Coen and directed by George Clooney. The film takes place in a 1959 small town and chronicles the story of a hapless man, played by Matt Damon, as his plan for a new unencumbered life goes slowly, but surely, awry. Working with Production Designer Jim Bissell, set decorator Jan Pascale and Art Director Christa Munro, I designed the graphics for the film. A graphic designer 's role. Graphic designers help explain how the world works, both practically and emotionally. We make street signs and maps that let you know where you are going. We make artwork for home and office that tells you something about the owner. We create commercials that lure you into a store to buy something. We explain what a company is all about with a small symbol and some type. You might not realize it, but we are naturally "all about story." Graphic design is a good bridge to the film world because all advertising and graphic design tells a mini- story with the upmost visual economy. As with my Production Design work in the theatre, when I read a film script, I create a detailed outline of the scenes, looking for the problems, or more euphemistically, "challenges." What are the things that if I don't deal with them upfront, will trip me up down the line? Whether hiring an artist for the freak show banner-line illustrations in Water for Elephants, figuring out the language of the witches in The Last Witch Hunter, or studying the different levels of map making needed for Spielberg's Lincoln, there is always something. In Suburbicon, the 1959 grocery store and the large shopping center really stood out to me. The sheer number of design elements in both those locations was a bit daunting at first, so figuring out how to attack those challenges became my first priority for this project. Sometimes a small part of the film can eat up the majority of your time, but as long as you can get everything else done, it's worth it because it could be the scene that really helps establish a particular period. As my time in the business has lengthened to over fifteen years, I have started to take responsibility for the Art Direction of the graphics myself, instead of waiting for everything to be handed to me. This means that I have more control over my workload, so things don't bunch up at the last minute, and construction has the time they need to produce the project. With additional information from the Art Director, I am able to work ahead on elements that are known, freeing up time for last-minute ideas that always arise. This may include visiting the locations ahead of time and being on all the technical scouts when everything is laid out by the director. On the scout, I can look for existing signage that needs to be covered and take needed measurements. I can also see the entire scope of the scene and location, which keeps my head in the story. I can then prioritize D C