As the 2017 series proved, graphic designers like Matthew Clark make a subtle but important contribution to Doctor Who.

FEATURE BY JONATHAN HELM

Matthew took this picture of Peter Capaldi as the Doctor for The Pilot (2017), to add to the photos he took of Rosie Jane as Bill’s mother.

Graphic designer Matthew Clark on the set of the TARDIS.

The role of the graphic designer in TV production isn’t as obvious as that of a costume designer or a visual effects artist, and that’s kind of the point. Their skill lies in crafting the intricate details that sit in the background and tie the episode to a certain era – past or future. On Doctor Who, this could be anything from a Victorian street sign to a spaceship schematic.

“Graphic design for TV shows has changed tremendously in the last ten years or so,” explains Matthew Clark, who worked as a graphic designer on Doctor Who for the 2015 and 2017 series. “Back in the day, it would have been a lot of hand drawing, using things like Letraset, whereas now it now covers almost anything on screen that isn’t a purchased prop. I do anything that needs to be printed – posters, tickets, newspapers, signs – and I also do the majority of video screens, mobile devices and alien control panels. Thanks to newer technology like laser cutting and large format printing, I’m also responsible for constructed 3D graphics.”

Matthew’s work on an episode begins at an early stage of the production process, working closely with the director and production designer to examine the scripts and break scenes down to identify where a graphic art element is needed for the set. “I get involved at the same time as the rest of the Art Department – which is fairly early, usually as soon as a complete, working draft of the script is ready to go,” says Matthew. “From there we all prep by doing research for the era/setting of the episode, creating some rough designs to send onto the director, working out what things will cost, lead times etc. As the script evolves, so do the graphics – sometimes the night before shooting! We then tend to run alongside the first two weeks of the shoot – hopefully everything will be done by then – before prepping for the next episode.