King of the Castle

What would life in the US look like if World War II had ended differently? That question sets the stage for Amazon’s streaming series “The Man in the High Castle,” which will air its third season in October. Based on a book of the same name by Philip K. Dick, the show explores America in the 1960s with the Axis in power. The series’ production designer called upon SagaBoy Productions to craft signage and graphics to transport viewers to an alternate reality.

“It was very important on this project to evoke the era, and the outcome. The stories were told in a very detailed way. As characters walk down the street, they are assaulted by the richness of the graphics, from propaganda posters to detailed street signs and directions,” says Martin Charles, graphic designer, SagaBoy Productions. To transform the set into 1960s Nazi-ruled America, Charles created vintage maps, interior/exterior signage, war posters, billboards, and more, including a 16 x 19-foot triptych mural for a jazz club and a small-town “welcome” sign with war posters plastered over it. “Complex, layered designs like that one are really fun to create,” Charles adds.

SagaBoy produced the graphics with a Roland Soljet Pro 4 XR-640 printer, imaging onto 6-mil matte vinyl, wet-strength poster paper, and Roland WallFlair fabric with Eco-Sol Max 2 inks.

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