Volume 56

We played with type, explored transitions and chapter cards, and tried out different aspects for a single episode until we were able to creatively land on something that was working and felt on par with Arnold and his oversized persona.

The design style we landed on feels very suited to Arnold; it leans in to his personality as a whole but also his brand. The series is divided into three episodes, each reflecting one of Arnold’s eras— bodybuilding, acting and politics. The animation language stays generally the same across episodes, but modernizes across the eras.

For episode one, covering Arnold’s early history and bodybuilding career, we designed with bold type and flashy animations. We treated a lot of photos and early competitions and wanted to keep the animation punchy and upbeat, channeling the feel of a sports documentary.

As part of the series design, we also designed the main title sequence which is a full minute for the first episode and then a main title sting for the next two episodes. Arnold’s personality is the key influence in all of the design, and his bold and commanding presence comes through loudly in the title sequence.

This project was an exciting one throughout thanks to the vast amount of archival we had to work with, thanks to both the public and Arnold himself. Photo treatments, documents, headlines, footage treatments and mortises, international posters, and quite a bit of family photos and personal accoutrements as well.

To complete the series, we included a bespoke piece for each episode. A weightlifting passbook for the first episode, box office treatments for his films for episode two and an election ballot for the third and final episode covering his political career.

The project was expansive, and we worked closely with the production team including Chilcott and also Allen Hughes throughout. Our great working relationship really empowered us to push the design to a premium level, adding lots of layers and pushing the envelope with how much energy we could infuse. The blend of punchiness and oversized elements really cements a design that was built around Arnold’s massive personality and charisma, grounding a documentary that is sure to be an instant Netflix classic.

The design for this series was a unique ask— we were brought in to treat the entirety of each episode including photography and archival, so this was a big lift. Our goal was to collaborate with the show’s creators in a way that defines a really smooth workflow for everything and incorporates a cohesive design look across the series.

In each episode, host David Rubenstein — co-founder of the Carlyle Group, acclaimed philanthropist, and lifelong student of history — explores a symbol from history. From flags and statues to revered landmarks, objects that people live alongside and interact with history every day. Whenever we were introduced to a new episode, we would meet that team and talk through the specialized graphics.

For each episode, we separated the work into specialized buckets vs general archival depending on the needs of the material. The look for simpler archival treatments was established early on and streamlined throughout the series. There were also a handful of more in depth explainers and 3D work required for each episode that we were able to dive into in tandem - these graphics called for a more custom touch, depending on the episode subject matter.

Some of the heavier treatments were parallax photos, where you separate the foreground for the background, and there's a little more movement to it all and some were fully 3D. These specialized graphics really ended up keeping the design fresh for each episode because we covered such a wide array of objects.

A favorite episode to work on for our team was the Hollywood episode, exploring how The Hollywood Sign is as much a marker of location as it is a marker of industry. First erected 100 years ago as “Hollywoodland,” the bold, mountain-bound letters are a bona fide fixture of Los Angeles’ landscape, and have impacted the way the city has expanded and the visual language of the films made in its shadow.

Designing a visual language that reflects the influence of this symbol and all the others featured throughout the series while also storytelling in a beautiful way kept us working on this project for about a year. In addition to Hollywood, the series also covers Fenway Park, the Gadsden Flag, the American Cowboy, the Statue of Liberty, the American Bald Eagle, Stone Mountain and the Golden Gate Bridge.

Once we had a few episodes under our belt and a better understanding of the icons we wanted to use, we were ready to tackle the title sequence. Nick Woythaler jumped in on that was able to design something big and all-encompassing that suited the show and the featured symbols.

The series was spurred by Rubenstein’s insatiable curiosity and lifelong interest in American history, and we were thrilled to be able to design a design language that facilitated this storytelling and drive the series’ narrative and frame it through analysis, reflection, and counterpoint. Thank you to our partners at PBS and Show of Force for letting us be a part of this important series— these are the stories of the country’s history, and also the story of America today.

The international journey that is the premise of the show finds Chef Reynolds exploring the culinary worlds of Mississippi, Oklahoma, Appalachia, South Africa, Italy, Jamaica, Peru and Los Angeles. We were immediately invested in the idea of exploring the versions of soul food beyond the American South and clicked with the creators of the series who wanted a bold and edgy look to suit the chef’s personality.

Once we landed on the vibe, we designed the historical and cultural explainer sequences that appear in each episode, aiming to find the balance of quirky and informative. We kept the design fun, but also ensured that the necessary thematic elements were being shared in order to keep the episodes cohesive. As these came together, each episode really developed its own identity and style. The design was so collaborative that a ton of BigStar artists contributed to at least one element that appeared in the final edit of an episode.

Collaboration is at the heart of soul food, and working with our creative partners at Onyx Collective on this amazing series really allowed us to embrace the community element of soul food. Watch all eight episodes available to stream on Hulu, now.