The set design curated through Hannah Bleacher’s vision made history when she became the first African-American to be nominated for an Academy Award for production design and go on to win in that category.

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The set combines sci-fi elements with southern African architectural references to create an afrofuturist aesthetic combined of  an unexpected blend of Zaha Hadid and Buckingham Palace. Bleacher sourced inspiration from all corners of the world from and ended up shotting in countries including Uganda, South Africa, Zambia, and South Korea.

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For those of you who are unsure on what afrofuturism is, it’s a cultural movement that combines African and African diaspora culture with technology and science fiction elements.

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Zaha-style curves were based on late British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid's the DDP Building in Seoul and the Wangjing SOHO in Beijing. This inspiration was then combined with southern African architectural references, such as the traditional rondavel huts that feature conical, thatched roofs.

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Bleacher adds "that's what I wanted people to feel for the modern architecture in Black Panther… very voluptuous, very curvy, no hard edges and the spaces feel both very large and intimate at the same time." Bleachers notes recognisable use symbolic use of circles ‘represents this continual journey that we're on – this life cycle of birth, life and death that has many representations on the continent. I thought it was very important to put that in the film".

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From pre-production through post, Beachler spent more than 13 months working on the movie. With a reported budget of $200 million, Black Panther provided her with undreamt-of resources, but it also presented new challenges, such as collaborating extensively with VFX artists.

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The visual adaptation of afrofuturism in correlation with Bleachers vision alongside the work of VFX artists provides an incredible aesthetic and otherworldly immersive world. In conclusion a great triumph of set design.

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