I'll admit it: I was flipping around on Netflix the other night and I settled on an episode of Murder She Wrote. What can I say, 1980s nostalgia runs through my veins. (The show actually holds up rather well, BTW.)

So, while watching the show something caught my eye, something small and seemingly trivial. A bulletin board in the sheriff's office. I don't think it was something that most people would stop to think about. It was in the background. It was completely unimportant to the story and the world of Murder She Wrote. Or was it?

I noticed the number of missing children fliers hanging up. A total of eight. Eight ongoing missing children cases in the small town (population 3,500) of Cabot Cove, Maine. That seemed like an awful lot.

I looked up the actual Maine State Police website, and today it lists state-wide open missing person cases (both child and adult) from 1971. Most years have no more than 2 cases listed, the most is four for 1986. But, in the show, Cabot Cove had eight children in 1984—not even counting adults since we know half of them are murdered somewhere for Jessica Fletcher to discover later.

My point is, this overzealous act of set decorating caught my attention and took away from the experience that I was supposed to be having and enjoying. Once noticed, it became an anomaly in the world I was viewing (supposedly one that was, relatively, akin to my own world).

Good art direction, in whatever form it takes, is about ensuring all details are considered—no matter how insignificant they might seem at the outset—for the world and experience you're creating for people. Not every aspect needs to be acted upon, just stopped and considered as it may make a difference down the line.

Art direction is an important part of any project. Because someone somewhere will take notice.