At Gamescom 2025, we sat down with 007: First Light Art Director Rasmus Poulsen, who in our upcoming full interview spoke about many aspects of the game. One remark stood out immediately: his reflections on legendary Bond designer Ken Adam.
“You can’t really look at the legacy of Bond without looking at the work of Ken Adam, because his work is so pivotal. In many respects he was an inspiration… You cannot deny the influence – and let’s say, having a take on it.”
Poulsen’s words make clear: IO Interactive is fully aware of Adam’s role in defining Bond’s visual DNA. And no figure shaped that identity more than Ken Adam himself.
Who Was Ken Adam?
For many James Bond fans, the name Ken Adam is synonymous with the franchise’s boldest visual identity. Born in Berlin and later working as a production designer in Britain, Adam gave Bond a look unlike anything else in cinema during the 1960s and 70s.
He worked on a total of seven James Bond films and designed some of the series’ most unforgettable sets: the futuristic control room in Dr. No (1962), the glittering Fort Knox vault in Goldfinger (1964), and the massive volcano base in You Only Live Twice (1967). These weren’t just backdrops – they were architectural spectacles that made Bond’s adventures feel larger than life.
Adam also brought his real-world background to the screen. During World War II, he served as a Royal Air Force pilot, one of the few Germans to fly for Britain. That experience gave him first-hand knowledge of technology and engineering, which he later poured into Bond’s world of weapons, vehicles, and command centers.
And of course, his imagination extended to gadgets. From the Aston Martin DB5’s ejector seat and machine guns to Bond’s jetpack in Thunderball (1965), Adam blurred the line between spycraft and science fiction – shaping icons that remain instantly recognizable to this day.
A Personal Connection
For me, no set left a stronger impression than the giant volcano base from You Only Live Twice (1967). Strangely enough, it’s not even my favorite Bond film—but the sheer scale of that set was unforgettable. Built inside the newly constructed 007 Stage at Pinewood Studios, it remains one of the most ambitious film sets ever created.
I still treasure a framed art print of Adam’s original design for that volcano, included in The James Bond Archives: Golden Edition and signed by Ken Adam himself. It was one of the very first things I treated myself to when I had just started my professional career, and it remains a prized possession today. In a curious twist of fate, the sports teacher of a Japanese friend of mine was actually one of the stunt performers during the 1960’s production. Bond’s influence, it seems, leaves traces in the most unexpected places.
Adam’s Style and IOI’s Future
Poulsen admitted it was still too early to go into details about how Ken Adam’s influence will appear in First Light. But I can’t help imagining: a villain’s lair beside an active volcano in Iceland, or a secret underground base hidden beneath a luxury resort in Vietnam.
That sense of spectacle was Adam’s hallmark, and it remains strikingly timeless. His sets from the 1960s still feel fresh today – proof that bold design can outlast fashion. And timelessness, Poulsen explained elsewhere in our conversation, is also a guiding principle for First Light’s visual identity, alongside what the team calls “tactical elegance.”
If IO Interactive succeeds, 007: First Light won’t just give us levels to play – it will give us stages to remember, lairs and locations as timeless as Bond himself.
