Credits ✦
Production Design ✹
Art ✦

After initially studying physics, Merlin Ortner moved into graphic design before finding his way into film — a path that still shapes his work today, combining analytical thinking with a strong visual intuition.

He graduated from the Weißensee School of Art in Berlin in 2013, where his background in painting became a lasting influence. For Merlin, production design is not decoration, but a way of constructing emotional space — shaped through composition, light, material, and atmosphere.

Since 2006, he has been working as an art director and production designer across film and advertising. His recent film work includes Bloody Tennis (dir. Nikias Chryssos) and Drive (dir. Sergej Moya, Amazon). He previously collaborated with Christian Petzold on Undine.

Alongside his work in film, Merlin has designed numerous high-end commercials, working with talents such as Charles Leclerc and Siegfried & Joy, as well as brands including Telekom, Armani, and WWF. He also designed the music video for Rammstein’s Deutschland.

His work is driven by the belief that spaces are never neutral — they define how a story is felt.

Education

2013: Graduated from The Berlin Weissensee School of Art

Class of Prof. Friederike Feldmann

2008-2013: Study of Fine Art, The Berlin Weissensee School of Art

Class of: Prof. Antje Majewski & Friederike Feldmann

04/2004-10/2005: HTK-Berlin, Graphic Design

10/2003-04/2004: HU-Berlin, Physics

06/1998-08/2001: Secondary School, Svendborg, Denmark,

University-entrance-diploma

Awards

• Allgäuer Art Prize (2016)

• ARTiges Award (2016)

• Moscow Photo Award (Honorable Mention)
  Education