Biography

Alex McDowell is an award-winning production designer working at the intersection of design, technology and storytelling. In 2002, after his work as designer of Minority Report, he founded the multi-disciplinary narrative design practice of world building. He is creative director at Experimental Design, building worlds across media for industries and institutions. He is a Professor of Practice at USC's School of Cinematic Arts, where he holds the William Cameron Menzies Chair in Production Design. He is director of the USC World Building Media Lab researching the future of storytelling in art and science using post-cinematic media and mixed reality. He is director of the World Building Institute, which stages narrative workshops around the world, including at the Berlin Film Festival, Sundance New Frontier and the Future of Storytelling. He has delivered keynote addresses at global events for two decades focused on design for change, the power of design practice, and the evolution of production systems across industries. Alex is a production designer of feature films for over 30 years, working with directors David Fincher, Steven Spielberg, Tim Burton, Terry Gilliam, Zach Snyder and Anthony Minghella among many others. As Visiting Artist to the MIT Media Lab (2005-2010) he designed the robot opera "Death and the Powers." His awards include Royal Designer for Industry for the UK's RSA (2006), the President's Award (UK Designers & Art Directors, 2013), the Future Voice Award (Interaction Awards, 2014), the ADG Excellence in Production Design (2005), and San Diego Film Critics Society (2002); nominations for awards at BAFTA (2006), Saturn (2010), OFTA (2003, 2006), and VES (2003); and the 2013 D&AD President's Award.