Atkins was the lead graphic designer in this film. She made
lots of production props, including various copies of said props.
She designed many of the iconic graphic design elements from the
film, including the fake book cover for the Grand Budapest Hotel
but also down to the smallest flashes of designs like the keys
in the hotel or the newspapers we see for a short time.
Collaborating yet again with Wes Anderson, Atkins was yet again
the graphic designer, but she also tried her hands at props.
She made little handmade props like milk bottles, ID cards,
newspapers and also the miniature poster we see throughout the film.
In fact, everything made in mind for the graphic design aspect was
made on an especially tiny scale.
Annie Atkins grew up in Northern Wales. Atkins was almost destined
to be a graphic designer as her mother was an artist and her father
was a graphic designer. This would also explain Atkin’s fascination
with typography and calligraphy especially. She first studied visual
communications at Ravensbourne University in London. After working
for an advertising agency, Atkins continued her education at the
University College Dublin to get a degree in film production. Her
first set she worked on was the BBC program called the Tudors.
She landed her most famous film, The Grand Budapest Hotel and
was lead graphic designer for the production. For now, Atkins
has opened a workshop and continues to work for film productions.
See Atkins' Creative Work in
the Gallery