Dreaming Whist Black
Supervising Art Director
BBC / A24
Dreaming Whilst Black tells the story of Kwabena (Adjani Salmon), an aspiring filmmaker stuck in a dead-end recruitment job who takes the first step toward achieving his dream. Along the way, he is quickly confronted with the tribulations of balancing finances, love, and his own sense of reality.
Project Overview
The Challenge
My Approach
Role
Supervising Art Director
Production
Dreaming Whilst Black
Director
Dreaming Whilst Black
Production Company
BBC / A24
Year
2025
The series required environments that felt authentic and relatable while supporting the show's visual humour and emotinal storytelling.
Working across multiple locations and set builds, the design languange needed to reflect the protagonist's aspirations while remaining grounded in reality.
Rather than treating location as simple backgrounds, each environment was designed to reinforce character development and narrative progression.
The focus was placed on:
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visual authenticity
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character storytelling
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efficient delivery with production constraints
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collaborations across departments
Process
Research
The series required environments that felt authentic and relatable while supporting the show's visual humour and emotional storytelling.
Concept Development
The series required environments that felt authentic and relatable while supporting the show's visual humour and emotinal storytelling.
Set Planning
The series required environments that felt authentic and relatable while supporting the show's visual humour and emotinal storytelling.
Visual Language
The series required environments that felt authentic and relatable while supporting the show's visual humour and emotinal storytelling.
Project Overview
Coordinated art department teams across multiple units and locations.
Managed set builds, dressing, graphics and on-set adjustments within tight schedules and budgets.
Collaborated closely with the directors, DP, and producers, and production design team to maintain visual consistency throughout the series.
Key Contribution
Led design delivery across mutiple locations
Coordinated art department workflow
Managed schedules and design approvals
Managed the art departments budget
Maintained visual consistency across episodes.
Final Outcome
Coordinated art department teams across multiple units and locations.
Managed set builds, dressing, graphics and on-set adjustments within tight schedules and budgets.
Collaborated closely with the directors, DP, and producers, and production design team to maintain visual consistency throughout the series.
Reflection
Coordinated art department teams across multiple units and locations.
Managed set builds, dressing, graphics and on-set adjustments within tight schedules and budgets.
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