He’s the mind behind so many memorable Star Wars locations, vehicles, creatures, droids and so much more, and here Doug Chiang talks with Creative Bloq about his journey, from childhood to the skies of Coruscant and everything inbetween, where his work – taking its cues from the keystone of Ralph McQuarrie and broadening it across the eras – is now synonymous with the saga.
CB: Today you’re the executive design director at Lucasfilm. What does that role entail?
DC: My current position at Lucasfilm encompasses two roles. On the company side, I oversee Star Wars design for our films, games, new media and theme parks. Having worked closely with George Lucas for seven years at Skywalker Ranch, I try to pass on the lessons that I learned from him.
Star Wars design is more sophisticated than it first appears. On the surface, the designs may seem simple and obvious, and that’s intentional. But underneath lie layers of foundational guidelines that shape this cohesive universe. In reality, only George truly knows what Star Wars design is. I do my best, but I don’t always get it 100 per cent right.
The second part of my role is working as a production designer on our films. This alone is a full-time job, making it challenging to juggle both responsibilities, especially when I’m involved with multiple films simultaneously. Each film typically takes two-and-a-half years to produce, and I’m usually working on two
or three concurrently. I might be in early development on one, full production and filming on another, and postproduction on a third.Most of my day is consumed with art direction and supervision. This
can be frustrating because it leaves little time for creating art, which is why my personal sketchbook and drawings are so important to me.
