How to Become a Set Designer

These designers work in film, television, theater, dance, concert, and pageant production, as well as in other areas.

Any event which requires the presentation of people on a stage will involve a set designer, whether it's a speech from a head of state or a daytime soap opera.

Historically, many set designers learned their craft by working from the ground up.

They would start in the scenery department with tasks like painting and carpentry, and gradually develop more advanced skills and aesthetics until they could work designing sets.

Most designers today are trained artists, with many having MFA degrees in arts, theater production, or set design specifically.

Keep Doing Your Personal Projects.

Buy the first item to set the tone of the room.

Don't push all your furniture up against the walls.

Live with your choices—then rearrange.

Tom Dixon style beat pendant lights.

These are not just sets, but designs that pull audiences into the psychology of a play.

When Hollywood set designer Floyd Albee and his wife, Julia, a commercial photographer, moved to Mill Valley last June, they merged their talents and experience into Prevalent Projects, a design studio and store, in their new hometown.

In parallel with Lavender Blue, Miss Baker has recently established another business that provides set and costume design services for photographers and independent filmmakers.

Korins will magnify small details — table legs, moldings, chair feet, corners of rooms — and use them as vitrines and set pieces for the artworks and objects on display.

Director Patty Jenkins and production designer Aline Bonetto chose a location in southern Italy to recreate the virginal lush landscapes of “Paradise Island”, complete with waterfalls and natural rock formations, Greek-mythology inspired towers and dwellings, and dusty gladiator-style training grounds for the Amazons to learn combat.

Becoming a set designer requires a keen eye for detail and the ability to give birth to ideas using a variety of artistic mediums.

Once you’ve made up your mind to pursue set design, you can begin building the skills and experience you’ll need to put together sets that lend authentic character to a production.

You may not be able to actually design sets yourself on your first few productions.

Realizing a finished set begins with understanding the needs of the story.

Traditional art classes will teach you essential design skills, which you'll use every day on set.