A production designer who didn’t initially see art as a viable career has gone on to work with numerous celebrities and directors.

Maidstone-born Phoebe Darling-Senner now lives in LA and has helped film stars such as Meghan Trainor, Lewis Capaldi and Dave.

The 33-year-old was catapulted into the film industry following her work on the music video Funky Friday by London-based rappers Dave and Fredo.

The song, released in 2018, debuted at the top of the UK Singles Chart.

“I love working with him,” she said. “Dave is a very calm and serious man – it's his career and he wants things to go well.

“When filming is all over, he’s really fun. Once he can relax he’s a good laugh.

“I then started doing videos for all the rappers like Headie One and Krept & Konan. It was an exciting new world to be in.”

In 2019, Phoebe was enlisted to help create the critically acclaimed feature film County Lines, which was later nominated for a BAFTA.

Directed by Henry Blake, it follows a 14-year-old boy who is groomed into a lethal nationwide drug-selling enterprise which exploits vulnerable children and traffics them across Britain.

Throughout the last five years she has worked with well-known artists including The Big Moon, Michael Kiwanuka, Tom Misch, Loyle Carner and Meghan Trainor.

Phoebe also helped create Lewis Capaldi’s music video Grace, which has more than 50 million views on YouTube.

It sees the singer hilariously pole dance in a stereotypical strip club alongside male dancers – shocking all the customers.

“I remember having to put up all these drapes around the room, as we had to mask off really trashy decals of naked ladies that were on the mirrors,” Phoebe said.

“We wanted it to be more of a classy joint.

“The strippers were actually real dancers from the Magic Mike show in the West End.”

“Lewis Capaldi is great,” she added. “He is the funniest person ever and is very kind.”

Most recently, Phoebe helped film Made You Look by American pop singer Meghan Trainor, best known for her 2014 hit All About That Bass.

It features a colourful pink-themed video with a fake film set, large sweet props and a Cadillac convertible.

But Phoebe’s career hasn’t always been smooth sailing.

The 33-year-old went to Maidstone Grammar School for Girls and initially had ambitions of becoming an engineer.

She said: “I did study art at school and loved it so much, but I felt like it didn't have any possible avenues for a career.

“I remember saying to my mum that if I’d stuck with it I would have to wait until I was dead to be successful – like Vincent Van Gogh. I imagined it being a very tough life.”

After her A-Levels, she applied to do environmental engineering at the University of Sussex.

However, while on a gap year in Thailand, the university told her it had cancelled the course.

“I got an urgent panic call from my mum,” Phoebe explained.

“They said I could pick whatever course I wanted to do instead, if I still wanted to go. l decided to choose art history.”

For the next few years she worked at the Saatchi Gallery in the education department and tried her hand as a personal assistant in an art consultancy.

Nothing she did felt like the right thing for her.

“One day I was watching TV with my friend and kept noticing when things were moving,” Phoebe said.

“I would say ‘that lady's got a bag in her left arm and she had it in her right arm’ for example, or ‘that pot just moved without anyone moving it’.

“Afterwards she told me that was an actual job. Her dad, Nick Laughland, was a director of The Bill.

“She put me in touch and I shadowed him on set for a day. I just fell in love with it.”

In her role as production designer Phoebe helps to create the way a music video, TV show or film looks on screen.

She works with all other visual departments including costume, lighting, visual and special effects as well as graphic design.

“Every single item you see on screen has been deliberately chosen to tell the story of the character,” she added.

“We work very closely with the director to make their vision come to life and to use the script as our jumping off point.”

In October 2019, Phoebe moved to LA and has completed brand adverts for Meta, eBay, Samsung and MAC Cosmetics.

She added: “I want young people interested in the arts to understand there's an enormous wealth of careers in the visual arts.

“We live in such a visual world nowadays and they need people to create that – whether it be for brands, TikTok or cinemas.

“There really are careers in it that can get you to LA – if that's what you dream of.”