Genevieve Douthwaite is a Production Designer, Art Director, and World Builder whose practice explores the relationship between space, narrative, and audience experience. Working across film, television, and immersive storytelling, she is particularly interested in how environments, objects, and landscapes can communicate story beyond dialogue, creating worlds that feel lived-in, emotionally resonant, and rich with history.
Genevieve holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Tasmania, including study at the Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton, and recently completed a Master of Arts Screen: Production Design at the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS). Her work has been featured in the UCLA Design Showcase West, and her research has culminated in the publication of Collective Cartography: A Nexus of Maps and Narrative, an exploration of maps as tools for storytelling, worldbuilding, and spatial design.
With a background spanning fine art, theatre, music, and screen production, Genevieve approaches design through the lens of a world builder. Her practice is driven by a fascination with fantasy, cartography, mythology, and the ways imagined places can shape character, culture, and narrative. Drawing inspiration from both cinematic and interactive storytelling traditions, she is interested in creating worlds that audiences can navigate, inhabit, and remember.
As a Production Designer, Genevieve has designed a range of short films and creative projects including A Dream About a Horse (AFTRS), Life Support (Bus Stop Productions), Faye (Ten Alphas), Sundown (AFTRS), Scars (AFTRS), and the experimental artefact film Elise (AFTRS). Her work often combines detailed visual research, cultural worldbuilding, and strong spatial design principles to create cohesive visual languages that support story and performance.
Alongside her design work, she has worked as Art Director on productions including The Lounge and Boots, developing visual concepts and collaborating closely with directors, cinematographers, and art departments to realise distinctive screen worlds. Through these experiences, she has developed a collaborative and adaptable design practice that spans concept development, visual research, drafting, set decoration, props, graphics, and on-set problem solving.
Whether designing a film, building a fictional world, or drawing a map, Genevieve's work is guided by a simple belief: every space has the potential to tell a story.