Doug Chiang

"Star Wars design is more sophisticated than it first appears. On the surface, the designs may seem simple and obvious, and that's intentional. But underneath lie layers of foundational guidelines that shape this cohesive universe. In reality, only George truly knows what Star Wars design is. I do my best, but I don't always get it 100 per cent right."

―Doug Chiang^[3]

Doug Chiang is an American illustrator and art director who has worked on several major Star Wars projects. Born in Taiwan and raised in Michigan, Doug Chiang joined Industrial Light & Magic and was later selected by George Lucas to head the art departments of The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. As of 2021, he has since become vice president and executive creative director at Lucasfilm, responsible for overseeing designs for all new Star Wars franchise developments, such as the sequel trilogy and anthology films, theme parks, games, and the Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi television series.

Biography

PodraceCrashDougChiang — Doug Chiang's concept drawing "Podrace Crash"

Doug Chiang lived in Taiwan until he moved with his family to Michigan in the United States at around five years old. Chiang parents spoke a Taiwanese language with some Mandarin, but he and his siblings were encouraged to assimilate, learning English and eventually losing their Chinese language skills. Chiang described his family as very culturally Chinese despite trying to fit in American society.^[1] Chiang grew up in Detroit.^[2]

Chiang had started drawing when four years old, and he could remember his disappointment with some toys, his inclination to imagine better ones, and create his own things. By high school he made drawings of futuristic vehicles.^[2]

Although art was discouraged as a career prospect, Chiang developed an interest in film after watching 1977's Star Wars and Ray Harryhausen's The Golden Voyage of Sinbad. He was particularly inspired by the insight into film production in the documentary The Making of Star Wars. Chiang later went to study at UCLA.^[1]^[2] He spent summer nights in the basement of his house making cardboard models of creatures and vehicles, and filming them using stop-motion animation in 8 mm.^[2]

In 1989, Chiang joined Industrial Light & Magic. As a professional, he used to take photographs of unusual objects he came across, and catalogue them for future reference, such as machines that would become an inspiration for a spaceship design.^[2]

After Jumanji, he left ILM in 1995 to serve as the Design Director for The Phantom Menace and he moved from San Rafael to Skywalker Ranch to consult with George Lucas about his illustrations. Around this time, he joined the Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire multimedia project and the design of the new spaceships.^[2]

Chiang returned as Concept Design Supervisor for Attack of the Clones and as a concept artist for Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens.^[4] He is currently one of the members of the Intellectual Property Development Group.^[5]

Chiang served as a production designer and co-producer for the Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi television series.^[6] He created many of the original concepts for the Third Sister's lightsaber. When the prop makers were building the unique design, they took into account Chiang's artistic vision as well as director Deborah Chow's need in bringing the action sequences with the Third Sister to life.^[7] Chiang gave input into the overall look of Hayden Christensen playing Darth Vader in a bacta tank.^[8]

KP-1DrawingDougChiang — Drawings of KP-1 done by Doug Chiang and the art department over Camille Manet's drawing

The French fan Camille Manet was named the grand prize winner of the Build My Droid contest for her design of the droid KP-1.^[9] Chiang loved Manet's concept of KP-1. In March, 2021, Chiang, Chow, and other crew members met virtually to discuss what purpose KP-1 could serve in the show. Chow suggested that the droid could be put in the "pseudo rebel base" and have some functionality. Chiang wanted to preserve all of the key elements in the concept and also bring practicality so that it could interact with the actors. Chiang and the art department did a drawing of KP-1 over Manet's drawing. The droid's head, eye, and markings were modeled after an R2-series astromech droid.^[10] Manet met virtually with Chiang who put some finishing touches on KP-1 for filming.^[9]