Teddy Blanks on Designing Film Titles from Barbie to Werwulf

Key facts

• Teddy Blanks is co-founder of Chips, a graphic design studio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, established in 2009 with Adam Squires and Dan Shields.
• Blanks' first title-design client was Lena Dunham, for whom he created titles for her short films at Oberlin College and later for Tiny Furniture.
• For Barbie, Blanks revived a Mattel logotype discontinued over 30 years ago, sourcing high-resolution versions from a late-1980s Barbie magazine and building a full font from eBay-purchased dolls.
• For Weapons, Blanks placed a triangle inside the 'O' of the title, which unintentionally referenced the Alcoholics Anonymous logo, aligning with the film's allegory about addiction.
• For Werwulf, Blanks worked from Robert Eggers' initial design based on a 14th-century manuscript, refining the 'W' and applying a paper texture using a displacement map in Photoshop.
• The Green Knight project, directed by David Lowery, changed Blanks' approach: he used a different font for each chapter card, emphasizing moment-specific impact over consistency.
• For Nickel Boys, Blanks researched the Dozier School's hand-painted signs, though they do not appear in the film, to create an unspoken emotional connection.
• Blanks believes film titles are a contractual obligation but can create a special moment, and he avoids grand illusions about their importance.