Freaky Tales
Service
Graphic Design
Category
Film
Year
2024
Traveling to Oakland to work on Freaky Tales meant stepping into a city with its own unmistakable visual identity. Set in 1987, the film celebrates Oakland's music, neighborhoods, and culture through a series of interconnected stories. My role was to create production graphics that honored that history while supporting the film's bold, stylized world.
the challenge
Period films ask more than simply recreating the past. Every graphic had to feel authentic to the era while reflecting the personality of the people and places that inspired the story. From typography and printed ephemera to environmental graphics, the work required careful research and an appreciation for the visual culture that made Oakland unique.
The finished graphics became part of a larger visual tapestry that helped transport audiences back to the late 1980s. Working alongside an incredibly talented art department, every piece contributed to environments filled with character, nostalgia, and detail. The most rewarding moments came from seeing individual graphics disappear into the larger story, becoming part of a world that felt vibrant, lived in, and unmistakably Oakland.
conclusion
Projects like Freaky Tales remind me that great production design begins with understanding people and place. Design is most meaningful when it reflects the culture, history, and personality of the world it inhabits. Contributing to a film with such a strong sense of identity reinforced my belief that the smallest details often help tell the biggest stories.