Memory of a Killer
A Fading Mind.
A Violent Past.
The Chicago-based creative group, Sarofsky, brought Bryan Grant in on Memory of a Killer for his vast experience in branding for film and television. FOX Entertainment needed a designer who could blend the tactile feel of print with cinematic influence with a short turnaround.
Bryan led the art direction and design for the logo exploration, opening title sequence, and developing a visual language where typography, still imagery, and analog textures came to life.
Defining the Visual Identity
FOX's Memory of a Killer is a psychological crime thriller starring Patrick Dempsey as Angelo, a seemingly ordinary photocopier salesman and devoted father who secretly leads a second life as a professional hitman. When he begins developing early-onset Alzheimer's, the carefully constructed wall between his two worlds starts to collapse, threatening his family and forcing him to confront his violent past before his memory disappears.
I developed a range of typographic directions, each exploring a distinct tone, weight, and visual personality for the series title. The work moved across editorial, cinematic, and graphic traditions to find a treatment that captured the psychological tension at the heart of the show. Both stacked and single-line explorations were essential, allowing the title to adapt across formats while maintaining a strong, cohesive identity.
The Chosen Direction
FOX Entertainment approved this logo lockup as the definitive typographic identity for the series. This treatment was to be carried forward and incorporated across all motion frames, broadcast graphics, and promotional materials.
Building the Visual World
The initial direction explored a tactile analog language of photocopier textures, distressed print, and a distinct green palette. It also had to include provided imagery of Patrick Dempsey. As the work evolved, modern medical influences were introduced, bringing a cleaner, more clinical aesthetic. The challenge became finding the right tension between analog imperfection and medical precision.
