The Knockturnal sat down with Kenny Gravillis, the creative mind behind some of today’s most striking film posters, to discuss his long-standing collaboration with Spike Lee and the art of visual storytelling.
From the bold, Brooklyn-rooted imagery of Highest 2 Lowest to the genre-bending challenges of Sinners, Gravillis opened up about his process, the balance between director input and creative freedom, and what makes a poster truly timeless.
The Knockturnal: When you began working on Highest 2 Lowest, what was the first spark of inspiration that drove the visual direction?
Kenny Gravillis: So the first spark was that Spike came over to our office and drew it out for us … we actually have the sketches, believe it or not, and he was very clear about it being ‘Brooklyn’ and being ‘Denzel’ and having the New York Yankees cap (which we had to change last minute). So, yes, Spike really was also very clear about what highlighting the music, hence having the headphones on Denzel. It was pretty clear. It’s New York. It’s Brooklyn. And it’s Denzel in the headphones.
The Knockturnal: Spike Lee has such an established visual language. How do you balance honoring his style while still leaving your own creative imprint?
Kenny Gravillis: Spike is actually really good about allowing sort of creative exploration. He would be like ‘OK, which one you think?’ and I might say that I like this, but he’ll still be like ‘I don’t. HA. But he’ll still ask HA! I think that he’s always been good like that, in terms of partnership. He’s always open to looking at ideas, and although he’s not often swayed, he can be open to change his mind if I really think it works.
The Knockturnal: Translating a film’s core themes into a single image is no easy task. What’s your process for finding that one poster moment?
Kenny Gravillis: That a difficult question because it really varies. I think sometimes the moment it’s clear, you know, like David in the hood in BlackKklansman, that was really clear that had to be done … but sometimes it’s not as clear, and we love that exploration– in terms of what moment really represents a film. A lot of times, it’s noise in terms of how much storytelling needs to be in a film poster or if it’s more so just one single iconic image.
The Knockturnal: With Sinners, what was the biggest design challenge you faced, and how did you solve it?
Kenny Gravillis: The challenge was that it was not a genre-specific sell, which made it challenging. Because it wasn’t really a horror, it wasn’t really a thriller, it wasn’t really a drama, it was sort of all of those in one. We didn’t really want to push or reveal the vampire part of it, but we needed to push that it has supernatural elements. So we definitely had to thread the needle between genres without really committing to one, so that was the thing is a little tricky about that film.
The Knockturnal: Typography and color are so striking in Highest 2 Lowest. How did you land on that particular palette and typeface approach?
Kenny Gravillis: Definitely a Spike thing, you know he was he wanted the color to feel like a hot, New York summer, so that’s why we went into those reds and oranges. You know the logo’s interesting. I think we wanted have a play on the word’s ‘highest to lowest’, so that’s where that really came from. We needed to do something that represented the highs and the lows, so we played around a lot with it — the shape itself was tricky, but it ended up being a really cool mark.
The Knockturnal: How does collaborating with a filmmaker like Spike Lee compare to your process with other directors?
Kenny Gravillis: With Spike and I — It’s just more personal and routine. That relationship is very transparent, and people know that he has a relationship with us because we work on every film. We always meet in person, and we talk everything through which is uncommon for most directors to do. No one is consistent as Spike. Ryan Coogler is another director we’ve been working with since 2015, and that process is more reliant on communication with the studio executives. Other than that, there hasn’t really been another Director that has been working with as long and consistently.
The Knockturnal: Many of Spike’s films carry a strong social commentary. How do you design in a way that amplifies the message rather than just decorating it?
Kenny Gravillis: It’s funny, I don’t think we try hard to do that. I think we let the film do that.
And I think that sometimes, like in the case of Blackkklansman, it’s really obvious, and sometimes, it’s really not. But I think Spike’s films sort of lead you that way. If you look at some of the films that were done, like Da 5 Bloods, I think that sometimes the film sort of guides you in that way.
Like, for instance, I don’t think the Highest 2 Lowest pushes a social narrative in the art, per se, you know, and I don’t think it needed to. Where obviously Blackkklansman or Da Five Bloods was different. So, I mean, it isn’t so much about sort of like, how do we get that across? I think it’s more about just what goes with the film. We are just leaning into what makes sense.
The Knockturnal: Branding often involves many voices — marketing, distribution, and directors. How do you balance all of those inputs while staying true to the art?
Kenny Gravillis: You know, I don’t know there is such a thing as balance when it comes to that.
I think you try to have a point of view, and then it becomes like, which point of view resonates with enough people? You know, I don’t know if you can keep everyone happy. I think it becomes about what resonates most.
So, I think that what ends up being the key isn’t about trying to make every single person happy. I think it just becomes about, like, you know, staying true to what you believe and what that message is and seeing what ends up, you know, holding, holding true for everyone. Because it’s just impossible to please everybody
The Knockturnal: Your work often feels cinematic on its own. Do you see branding as an extension of storytelling, almost like another frame of the film?
Kenny Gravillis: 100%.I mean, the storytelling is everything. I think, you know, every brand wants to tell the right story. It’s very similar to entertainment, like film and TV.
The Knockturnal: When do you decide a poster should be minimal and symbolic versus bold and packed with imagery?
Kenny Gravillis: I think I want a poster that shows that we are bold and impactful, and symbolic.
You know, obviously, some posters get kind of inundated with people’s imagery, and you know, a lot of that comes from what makes sense of the film. My personal preference are things that are the more simple, more iconic. But, you know, certain things work with having more imagery. So I don’t know, I think that again, it’s not a one-size-fits-all sort of scenario. I think there’s certain films, you know, certain films like horror films, where you can get away with something just really iconic, because it’s more about conceptual versus cast.
The Knockturnal: In your eyes, what’s the difference between a poster that becomes timeless and one that’s simply of its moment?
Kenny Gravillis: I love the original alien poster from 1979. That poster for me is still iconic up to this day, and I think that, you know, that’s a great example to me of something that just stood the test of time. You know, I feel like when you can have a singular iconic image, that’s the image that stays in your mind and that you connect to the film. So when I think of Alien, all I do is think of that egg and that green stuff coming out of it, you know, I don’t think of Tom Skerrit, I don’t think of Sigourney Weaver, you know, even that alien head or the alien creature. Like, for me, I immediately connected that poster to the iconic image.
The Knockturnal: Finally, what advice would you give to young designers hoping to merge culture, storytelling, and design the way you have on Highest 2 Lowest and Sinners?
Kenny Gravillis: I would say, keep making work. You know, like, we’re in an era where work can be discovered anywhere. So I think if you are part of the culture, you make work that connects to your culture. And I think, you know, a lot that that work has way more chance of being discovered now than it ever has. So, I would say keep making stuff. You know, even we still make things that we send to clients that they didn’t even ask for because we just wanted to make cool shit.
