(2025)
Featured Project
UX Design
Wise + Foolish
My Business
Services
A24: Design in Cinema
Featured Blog
A24: Design in Cinema
(July 2025)
01 / Design as the Backbone of the A24 Universe
Few studios have shaped modern film culture as visibly—or as intentionally—as A24. While their projects span genres, directors, and narrative styles, the throughline is unmistakable: a design ethos that feels simultaneously handmade and hyper-curated. A24 doesn’t just produce films; they craft worlds. And design—across cinematography, sound, narrative architecture, and graphic identity—is central to how those worlds resonate.
02 / A Unified Aesthetic Across Divergent Stories
What makes A24’s catalog feel cohesive isn’t uniformity—it’s the deliberate absence of it. The studio’s films often look nothing alike, yet they share a sensibility: a devotion to atmosphere, a reverence for visual detail, and a willingness to let aesthetic tension carry emotional weight. Whether it’s the neon-washed surrealism of Uncut Gems, the pastoral dread of The Witch, or the dreamlike intimacy of Moonlight, each film is rooted in a design-first approach. A24 empowers directors and production designers to build fully realized visual ecosystems, and that creative freedom becomes the connective tissue. The result is a portfolio where design acts as both signature and storyteller.
03 / The Role of Technology in the A24 World
Technology is rarely a passive backdrop in A24 films—it’s a conceptual engine. Visually, the studio often juxtaposes analog warmth with digital precision, creating an uncanny tension that mirrors our own relationship with tech. Their worlds tend to orbit the edges of dystopia, not in a bombastic sci-fi sense, but in a quiet, psychological one. Films like Hereditary, Under the Skin, and Ex Machina explore how technology reshapes identity, intimacy, and perception. The commentary is subtle but sharp: A24 uses design to depict tech not just as a tool, but as an intruder, an amplifier, or sometimes a mirror reflecting back our most uncomfortable truths.
04 / Deep Dive into Ex Machina
From a design perspective, Ex Machina remains one of A24’s most iconic achievements. Nathan’s home—part research lab, part luxury bunker—embodies a perfect collision of minimalism and menace. The architecture itself becomes a character: warm wood panels paired with cold glass, controlled lighting contrasted against vast natural landscapes. Ava’s design mirrors this duality. Her transparent mesh body reveals the circuitry within, making her appear simultaneously vulnerable and invulnerable. The film’s visual language revolves around controlled symmetry, tight framing, and quietly oppressive spatial design. It’s not just a movie about artificial intelligence; it’s a meditation on power, secrecy, and the aesthetics of control. Every design decision reinforces the central theme: technology is beautiful until you realize who—or what—it’s watching.
05 / A24’s Off-Screen Design Ecosystem
A24’s influence extends far beyond the screen. Their brand ecosystem—merch, books, zines, soundtracks, posters, typography—has become a design phenomenon in its own right. They’ve created a visual culture that fans want to participate in, collect, and live with. Posters are treated as art objects, not disposable marketing material. Their merch has the sensibility of boutique streetwear rather than film swag. Even their website feels editorial, blending cinematic stills with bold grids, clean typography, and tactile photography. A24 understands that a brand is not a logo—it’s an experience. And they’ve architected a system where every touchpoint feels intentional, modern, and unmistakably theirs.
06 / Why A24’s Design Ethos Resonates
A24 succeeds because they design holistically—from worldbuilding on-screen to cultural footprint off-screen. They treat every project as a universe worth crafting, and every detail as an opportunity to deepen emotional impact. Their films resonate because they feel lived-in, aesthetically daring, and thematically layered. In an industry often driven by formulas, A24 embraces the power of design as a differentiator. The result is a body of work that doesn’t just entertain; it lingers, inspires, and expands what contemporary cinema can look and feel like. A24 isn’t just a studio—they’re a design movement hiding in plain sight.
© 2035 CARSON ALFORD