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A designer was a member of the pre-production staff of the 1963 version of Doctor Who. They were responsible for designing the visual look of props, sets and sometimes graphics used in an individual serial.
The position was somewhat similar to the modern production designer, but far more limited in scope. Because designers worked only on a serial-by-serial basis, no one was in charge of the overall look of the episodes. Hence some important design elements, as with the first TARDIS interior, were simply the product of the original designer, Peter Brachacki — who never worked on Doctor Who again.
Also, the designer had oversight of fewer visual elements than the production designer. In particular, the designer had extremely limited interaction with the costume department. Thus, if a monster was achieved by the use of a costume, as with the Cybermen, it was the costume supervisor, and not the designer, who created the look. This is one of the reasons that the Cybermen changed in almost every appearance, whereas the Daleks — achieved through the use of a prop — remained stable.
In some instances, the job of the early Doctor Who designer more closely resembled that of a concept artist. Because Doctor Who for many years lacked the ability to construct its own models and props, they had to subcontract the work to firms outside the BBC's control. The designer would submit a detailed drawing and hope that the manufacturer could adhere to it. If the firm failed to adhere to the design, there was often little the designer could do about it before filming began. This problem abated somewhat in the 1970s and 1980s, as Doctor Who's ability to call on the in-house workshop increased.
Nevertheless, the designer was not in any kind of formal control of the people who executed his designs. Like he himself, individual artisans and craftspeople would've been assigned to Doctor Who per serial by a BBC scheduler. They were all employees of the BBC, rather than employees of Doctor Who. This is decidedly not the case of the modern production designer who, as the head of the art department within a production company that is technically distinct from BBC Wales, has managerial oversight of hundreds of employees.
Season 1
- An Unearthly Child - Peter Brachacki and Barry Newbery
- The Daleks - Raymond Cusick and Jeremy Davies
- The Edge of Destruction - Raymond Cusick
- Marco Polo - Barry Newbery
- The Keys of Marinus - Raymond Cusick
- The Aztecs - Barry Newbery
- The Sensorites - Raymond Cusick
- The Reign of Terror - Roderick Laing
Season 2
- Planet of Giants - Raymond Cusick
- The Dalek Invasion of Earth - Spencer Chapman
- The Rescue - Raymond Cusick
- The Romans - Raymond Cusick
- The Web Planet - John Wood
- The Crusade - Barry Newbery
- The Space Museum - Spencer Chapman
- The Chase - Raymond Cusick and John Wood
- The Time Meddler - Barry Newbery
Season 3
- Galaxy 4 - Richard Hunt
- Mission to the Unknown - Richard Hunt and Raymond Cusick
- The Myth Makers - John Wood
- The Daleks' Master Plan - Raymond Cusick and Barry Newbery
- The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve - Michael Young
- The Ark - Barry Newbery
- The Celestial Toymaker - John Wood
- The Gunfighters - Barry Newbery
- The Savages - Stuart Walker
- The War Machines - Raymond London
Season 4
- The Smugglers - Richard Hunt
- The Tenth Planet - Peter Kindred
- The Power of the Daleks - Derek Dodd
- The Highlanders - Geoffrey Kirkland
- The Underwater Menace - Jack Robinson
- The Moonbase - Colin Shaw
- The Macra Terror - Kenneth Sharp
- The Faceless Ones - Geoffrey Kirkland
- The Evil of the Daleks - Chris Thompson
Season 5
Season 6
Season 7
Season 8
Season 9
Season 10
Season 11
Season 12
- Robot - Ian Rawnsley
- The Ark in Space - Roger Murray-Leach
- The Sontaran Experiment - Roger Murray-Leach
- Genesis of the Daleks - David Spode
- Revenge of the Cybermen - Roger Murray-Leach
Season 13
- Terror of the Zygons - Nigel Curzon
- Planet of Evil - Roger Murray-Leach
- Pyramids of Mars - Christine Ruscoe
- The Android Invasion - Philip Lindley
- The Brain of Morbius - Barry Newbery
- The Seeds of Doom - Jeremy Bear (episodes 1, 2), Roger Murray-Leach
Season 14
Season 15
Season 16
Season 17
Season 18
K9 and Company
Season 19
Season 20
Season 21
Season 22
Season 23
Season 24
- Time and the Rani - Geoff Powell
- Paradise Towers - Martin Collins
- Delta and the Bannermen - John Asbridge
- Dragonfire - John Asbridge
Season 25
Season 26
- Battlefield - Martin Collins
- Ghost Light - Nick Somerville
- The Curse of Fenric - David Laskey
- Survival - Nick Somerville