Vienna Blood
1900s Vienna, a hot bed of philosophy, science and art, where a clash of cultures and ideas collide. From acclaimed screenwriter Steve Thompson, Vienna blood was Red Arrow Studios’ landmark new drama series now on it’s 3 season. From concept sketches, through art direction, brand creation and final creative, the brief was to evoke this atmosphere with visual impact and cinematic scale. the 3rd season is airing now on the BBC and iPlayer.
Category
Art Direction · Creative - Design
For Channel 5 psychological thriller The Teacher, I developed the key art design and art direction, creating a tense, character-led visual identity for a story built around accusation, uncertainty and the collapse of a seemingly ordinary life.
Starring Sheridan Smith, the drama follows a troubled secondary-school teacher whose world begins to unravel when she is accused of sleeping with one of her students — forcing her to question both the events of the night and those around her.
The key art needed to capture that sense of vulnerability, ambiguity and psychological pressure without revealing too much of the story. The creative approach places Sheridan’s character at the centre, using atmosphere, composition and visual tension to suggest a life rapidly slipping out of control.
Art Direction · Key Art · Creative Design
Fifteen-Love (starring Ella Lily Hyland and Aidan Turner) is an exploration of the dangerous lines where personal and professional relationships collide, set amid the glamorous cut-and-thrust world of elite tennis, teen tennis prodigy Justine suffers a career-ending tragedy on the world stage at the French Open.
I was asked to develop a concept for the story examining themes of power, sex, and ambition, within an international sporting industry for World Productions and ITV Studios.
The Crow Girl — Season One
For the first season of Paramount+ psychological thriller The Crow Girl, I worked across key art design and art direction, developing the visual identity for a dark and unsettling story of murder, trauma and buried secrets.
Starring Eve Myles and Katherine Kelly, the series follows DCI Jeanette Kilburn and psychotherapist Dr Sophia Craven as an investigation into the murders of young men draws them into a disturbing world of historic abuse, corruption and increasingly personal consequences.
The creative challenge was to capture the series’ psychological tension and sense of unease in a single, arresting image — creating key art silhouetting the cinematic scale, mystery and emotional intensity needed to introduce the series and its central characters.
Art Direction · Key Art · Creative Design
The new ITV crime drama, GRACE, based on international bestselling author Peter James’ Detective Superintendent Roy Grace. The series is written by acclaimed screenwriter and Endeavour creator, Russell Lewis and stars acclaimed actor John Simm as tenacious detective Roy Grace, Richie Campbell as Glenn Branson.
Vienna Blood
1900s Vienna, a hot bed of philosophy, science and art, where a clash of cultures and ideas collide. From acclaimed screenwriter Steve Thompson, Vienna blood was Red Arrow Studios’ landmark new drama series at MipTV 2019. From concept sketches, through art direction, brand creation and final creative, the brief was to evoke this atmosphere with visual impact and cinematic scale. the series will air on BBC Two this winter.
Category
Art Direction · Creative - Design
‘The Way’ is Michael Sheen's directorial debut with this new BBC drama written by James Graham, the three-part series begins on Monday night (February 19) on BBC One.
The key art is a teaser to tell the story of an ordinary family caught up in an extraordinary chain of events that ripple out from their hometown.
For Retrograde, Ryan Calais Cameron’s powerful new play inspired by a pivotal moment in Sidney Poitier’s early career, I was asked to develop key art concepts exploring ambition, identity and the cost of success in 1950s Hollywood.
Set during the so-called Golden Age of Hollywood, the story centres on Poitier being offered a lucrative studio contract that could transform his career — but only at the expense of compromising who he is and what he stands for.
The creative challenge was to capture that tension in a single image: the promise and glamour of Hollywood set against the pressure, prejudice and personal sacrifice behind it. The work explored a defining moment in a career that would go on to break barriers, challenge perceptions and cement Poitier’s legacy as one of cinema’s most important figures.
Directed by Amit Sharma, the production examines not just stardom, but the resilience and integrity required to reach it.
I was delighted and genuinely humbled to be given the opportunity to contribute to a project centred on such an important moment in the life and legacy of Sidney Poitier.
Key Art · Art Direction · Concept Development · Campaign Design · Image Making
Twisters
Haunted by a devastating encounter with a tornado, Kate Cooper gets lured back to the open plains by her friend, Javi, to test a groundbreaking new tracking system. She soon crosses paths with Tyler Owens, a charming but reckless social-media superstar who thrives on posting his storm-chasing adventures.
From concept through to final keyart, the brief was to evoke this atmosphere with visual impact and cinematic scale for this Warner Bros. cinematic release.
Art Direction · Creative - Design
Out There Mini Series
A farmer is confronted with dark forces seeping into his rural community, leading to an investigation into the county lines drug cartel.
I created using location photography, capturing the moment of the farmer, Martin Clunes, defending his son from the gangs.
Fast-paced, intelligent and with whip-smart humour, The Diplomat follows Laura Simmonds (Sophie Rundle) and her Consul colleague/friend Alba Ortiz (Serena Manteghi) as they fight to protect Distressed British Nationals in Barcelona. Mixing the roles of lawyer, counsellor and cop, Laura and Alba's diplomatic skills are stretched to the limit as they navigate the stream of surprising and complex cases that walk through the Consulate doors in need of their assistance.
Set in 2000, “Paper Dolls” follows the meteoric rise and fall of a fictional girl-group, Harlow, born from the music reality television show “Pop Rush.”
The band’s members, five young women, must navigate the dark side of the music industry. The members includes Emalia (“Australian Gangster”); Naomi Sequeira (“Evermoor Chronicles”); Miah Madden (“Redfern Now”); Courtney Clarke (“Last King of The Cross”); and Courtney Monsma (“Frozen The Musical”).
Berlin, 2011. A former Stasi double agent, Ludwig Licht, who after the fall of the Berlin Wall works as a freelance problem solver and is the number one customer in the bar he owns in Kreuzberg, Berlin, is asked by his old CIA contact to come out of retirement and work one more case.
For the first season of The Gone, I developed the concept, art direction and final key art for a crime thriller set against the dramatic landscape of New Zealand.
The series follows an Irish detective who teams up with a local Kiwi cop to investigate the disappearance of two Irish tourists, uncovering the darker history of an apparently idyllic town along the way.
The creative challenge was to make the New Zealand landscape feel like a character in its own right — beautiful, remote and increasingly unsettling. The key art needed to balance the scale and atmosphere of the antipodean setting with a strong sense of mystery, tension and hidden threat.
From early concept development through to final artwork, the visual direction focused on creating a cinematic image that could communicate both the scale of the environment and the unease at the heart of the story.
Concept Development · Art Direction · Key Art · Campaign Design · Creative Retouching
Full series now airing now on Amazon Prime, AMC+, BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.
BBC Mini-Series
A complex story with an exciting array of young and upcoming stars have been cast alongside Oscar-winning actress Vanessa Redgrave in Man In An Orange Shirt – the first screen drama from best-selling British novelist Patrick Gale. I was briefed to create concepts and keyart for this BBC commission.
Concept : Alexander Lieven
Art Direction & Design : Alexander Lieven
The new Gamescon 2012 trailer and restyled artwork for Just Dance 4.
Re-styled the iconic dance 'coaches' to reflect the high-definition formats. Heavily treated model shots to retain the look and feel of the series and added extra detail to elevate the brand.
A highly polished formula which was then applied to the Launch Trailer for Gamescon 2012 and merchandise.
Creative Director : Neill Furmston
Video Production : Unit 7
Art Direction : Alex Lieven
Directed : Alex Lieven
Music : Maroon 5
Track : Licensed by Ubisoft
https://www.ubisoft.com/
The right to produce a copies of this work is protected by Copyright.
All contents © copyright 2006-2019 Mojo Communications Limited and Alexander Lieven. All rights reserved.
Motherhood can be murder.
Sarah’s seemingly perfect life as a local GP, loving wife and doting mother comes crashing down the moment she discovers her husband Anton is having an affair with her best friend Charlotte.
Suddenly, Charlotte turns up dead, and Anton is arrested for her murder and Sarah’s life spirals out of control, she finds unlikely support from a group of mums known as ‘The Bad Mothers Club’.
Copy, Art Direction and Design
For the second season of The Gone, I developed the concept, art direction and final key art for the returning crime thriller set against the dramatic landscape of New Zealand.
The new season continues the investigation-led world of the series, bringing its central characters back into a story shaped by disappearance, suspicion and the darker tensions hidden beneath an apparently idyllic setting.
The creative challenge was to build on the visual identity of the first season while giving the campaign a renewed sense of scale, atmosphere and intrigue. The New Zealand landscape remained central to the art direction, used not simply as a backdrop but as an active part of the mystery — beautiful, remote and increasingly threatening.
From early concept development through to final artwork, the focus was on creating a cinematic key visual that balanced character, environment and suspense, while giving the second season a distinctive identity of its own.
Concept Development · Art Direction · Key Art · Campaign Design · Creative Retouching
