15 Facts About Alex McDowell

Alex McDowell RDI was born on 11 April 1955 and is a British production designer and creative director working in narrative media.

Alex McDowell was born in Borneo, Malaysia, to British parents.

Alex McDowell's father, H Blair McDowell, was an engineer for Royal Dutch Shell, and his brother, Jonathan McDowell, is a London-based architect at Matter Architecture.

Alex McDowell attended Quaker boarding schools in the UK from age 7 to 18.

Alex McDowell designed album covers for punk rock groups and musicians, including Rich Kids, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Clash, Athletico Spizz 80, and Iggy Pop.

In 1979, Alex McDowell was commissioned to design Pop's Soldier album.

Alex McDowell was production designer and producer of Iggy Pop's first music videos during that time.

Alex McDowell began to work with director Tim Pope, designing a series of videos for The Cure.

Pope and Alex McDowell made a video with Depeche Mode at the Berlin Wall, with Queen in Munich, and Neil Young in California.

Alex McDowell worked at Limelight, where he designed and directed music videos, including "Paradise" for Nigerian singer Sade.

Alex McDowell is a Professor of Cinema Practice at the University of Southern California.

Alex McDowell was named the William Cameron Menzies Endowed Chair in Production Design in 2014.

Alex McDowell directs the USC World Building Media Lab and World Building Institute.

In 2002, Alex McDowell won a San Diego Film Critics Society award in the Best Production Design category for his work on Minority Report and, in 2004, an Art Directors Guild award for Excellence in Production Design for The Terminal.

In 2006, Alex McDowell was named Royal Designer for Industry by the RSA, a design society, and was appointed Visiting Artist at the MIT Media Lab.