The Design of Fear is a collective publication developed in collaboration with Metilene Edizioni. Subtitled The Construction of Unease in Horror, Thriller, and Crime Imaginaries, the book explores how fear is shaped through narrative, visual culture, and design, bringing together different perspectives on the aesthetics of unease.
My contribution to the volume unfolds on two levels. On the editorial side, I helped developing the book’s content outline, helping structure its thematic progression. On the authorial side, I wrote a chapter dedicated to the three cinematic Nosferatus, tracing over a century of transformations across 102 years of film history.
The chapter begins by distinguishing the broader vampire myth from the specific nosferatu, then moves through three film versions to examine how the same core story is continuously reinterpreted. What changes is not only the narrative framing, but also the archetypes embodied by the characters, the visual construction of the sets, and the role of cinematography in shaping fear. The result is both a journey through horror storytelling and a design-centred reading of how a single figure can survive, mutate, and remain unsettling across time.
The chapter begins by distinguishing the broader vampire myth from the specific nosferatu, then moves through three film versions to examine how the same core story is continuously reinterpreted. What changes is not only the narrative framing, but also the archetypes embodied by the characters, the visual construction of the sets, and the role of cinematography in shaping fear. The result is both a journey through horror storytelling and a design-centred reading of how a single figure can survive, mutate, and remain unsettling across time.
Written in 2025, published in 2026.
Project Supervisor: Serena Bedini
Project Supervisor: Serena Bedini
