Beowulf was Esqiuire’s second scripted series and they wanted to make sure the art appealed to their core market: sophisticated, educated men. They wanted an iconic piece that would evoke the spirit of the show and had a fresh, modern feel while still being true to the period of the show. Since their version of the story focused more on character development than the original theme of man vs monster, they did not want to focus on the monster to tell the story.

Because we were not tied to showing the cast, we were able to tap into iconic elements to evoke the story and create a sense of the mood of the show. We researched elements relevant to the period and place: architectural details, sculpture, woodcarvings, landscapes, costumes, anglo saxon patterns, runes and landscapes as inspiration for our concepts. The final piece incorporates an anglo saxon inspired pattern interwoven with a silhouette of the great warrior. Dragon heads were added into the pattern as a secondary element to provide context for the story without making it a central theme.

Beowulf is Esquire’s third most-watched original series ever.