Bold visual storytelling takes center stage as this year’s ADG shortlist highlights world-building, imagination, and artistic risk

Celebrating the Architects Behind the Screen

January 7, 2026: The Art Directors Guild has unveiled its latest nominations — and this year’s lineup feels like a love letter to visual ambition. Leading the pack are Sinners, Frankenstein, Taylor Swift’s hauntingly cinematic project The Fate of Ophelia, and Lady Gaga’s spellbinding fantasy film Abracadabra.

These selections underscore the Guild’s mission: honoring the artists who construct the universes audiences disappear into — from richly textured period pieces to imaginative worlds that stretch beyond reality.

HOLR breaks down the story here: design isn’t decoration — it’s storytelling.

‘Sinners’ — Atmosphere as Character

Sinners earned praise for its moody, layered production design, which transforms moral drama into something tactile. Weathered interiors, stark lighting, and symbolic textures helped blur lines between guilt, judgment, and redemption.

The ADG recognized how the film uses space as emotional language — locations feel confessional, intimate, and quietly threatening all at once.

‘Frankenstein’ — A Classic Rebuilt

Few adaptations arrive with expectations as heavy as Frankenstein, yet this reimagining approached the gothic legend through design that felt elegant, scientific, and unsettling.

Industrial laboratories, cold stone architecture, and eerily sterile rooms create an uneasy blend of past and future. The world feels engineered — as if stitched together, mirroring the story itself.

Critics credit the production team for honoring the original text while crafting visuals that resonate with today’s audiences.

Taylor Swift’s ‘The Fate of Ophelia’ — Poetry in Visual Form

Taylor Swift continued her pivot into cinematic storytelling with The Fate of Ophelia, a project praised for its painterly, dreamlike aesthetics.

The production design leans into symbolism: water imagery, muted palettes, and intimate interiors echo themes of resilience, isolation, and identity. Scenes unfold like pages of a modern myth — neither fully historical nor entirely contemporary.

The Guild’s recognition signals something larger: musicians entering filmmaking are being judged not by novelty, but by craft.

Lady Gaga’s ‘Abracadabra’ — Fantasy Built With Detail

Meanwhile, Lady Gaga’s Abracadabra dazzled voters through sheer imagination. The film’s whimsical yet grounded settings — enchanted libraries, atmospheric marketplaces, and surreal magical chambers — showcase meticulous craftsmanship.

Every prop, color choice, and surface texture supports character arcs. Fantasy feels lived-in rather than artificial, giving audiences a world that’s wondrous but emotionally credible.

HOLR breaks down the story here: the design team built mythology through materials, not just visual effects.

Why These Nominations Matter

Production design often shapes audience experience long before dialogue lands. It establishes tone, guides emotion, and quietly tells its own version of the story.

This year’s ADG shortlist celebrates risk-taking — projects that didn’t shy away from bold palettes, symbolic environments, or complex visual metaphors. It also reflects a growing trend: genre films and artist-driven passion projects now stand shoulder-to-shoulder with prestige dramas.

Looking Ahead to Awards Night

As final voting approaches, insiders say the competition is unusually tight. Each nominee brings a distinct design philosophy — psychological realism, gothic revival, lyrical fantasy, and narrative spectacle.

Whichever project wins, the conversation already feels like a victory for the crews whose names aren’t always front-and-center but whose work makes big-screen storytelling unforgettable.

The Art Directors Guild will reveal winners soon — and the industry will be watching closely to see which visual world takes home top honors.