Send In the Graphic Designers

Yesterday I secured another one of the vital jobs in this film. Trained as a graphic designer it is quite irritating to see jobs that I could do myself if I had the time and have to hand them over to someone else. This particular job is crucial to the movie as the headlines become the third party in this relationship and a lot of screentime is dedicated to newsprint that will end up conversing with the lead actor.

Needless to say, I was balking at the idea of ending up with someone I couldn't trust and found myself suffering graphic design nightmares. In comes Jonas Fridén. I met Jonas at this mystical MA I attended for one year at Saint Martins and we've become good friends ever since, working on a few projects together here and there. If I'm a graphic designer who hates graphic designing, Jonas is my mirror opposite; he relishes paper, layout, typography and grids. His final year project was a folding navigation system that became a brochure / carrying bag. Brilliant stuff.

The graphic designer in this movie has two primary jobs. The obvious one is the design of countless newspapers that show up in the movie. The idea is to fabricate something with a name that seems familiar but is not a real paper out there (it would have been great to use names like the Independent or the Guardian but it just requires too many phonecalls, permissions, clearances and whatnots).

The second job is to design the unholy shrine of headlines that Luma builds in her room, mapping out her faltering relationship. It's the work of an obsessed and warped mind and I think Jonas has the tenacity to pull it off.

I am happy. That is one aspect of the film I can stop worrying about.