Mostafa Moradian (born 1986) is an Iranian stage designer, scenographer, researcher, and faculty member at the University of Tehran. His practice centres on stage design and extends into architecture, sculpture, architectural model making, and stop-motion set construction. Working across these connected disciplines, he explores how space, form, material, and the human body shape theatrical experience. His approach combines conceptual research, visual experimentation, and hands-on making, while keeping stage design at the centre of his identity.
Moradian holds a Bachelor’s degree in Stage Design and a Master’s degree in Iranian Architectural Studies, both from the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Tehran. This academic background has shaped his understanding of theatrical space through the combined perspectives of scenography, architecture, and visual arts. His studies in Iranian architecture inform his attention to historical context, spatial traditions, construction logic, proportion, and the cultural meanings embedded in buildings. As a faculty member at the University of Tehran, he is engaged in academic and research activities related to stage design. His professional experience further connects theoretical inquiry with practical design, material exploration, and the technical demands of theatrical production.
Stage design is the core of Moradian’s professional practice. He has designed sets for numerous theatrical productions, collaborating with directors, performers, and creative teams.
Selected credits include Medea, Macbeth, Incendies, Piotr Ohee, The Machine, and The Gods. Each production has offered an opportunity to investigate the relationship between dramatic structure, visual language, and spatial organization. His process begins with an interpretation of the dramatic text and develops through research, sketches, models, material studies, and technical drawings. These elements translate dramatic ideas into tangible environments, responding to the particular demands of each production.
He approaches scenography as an integral part of performance, where space, light, objects, and the performer’s presence contribute to the overall dramatic experience. His designs remain responsive to each production.
Architecture is a major source of inspiration and a central field of inquiry in Moradian’s approach to stage design. His interest extends beyond architectural forms and styles to the spatial, cultural, and experiential dimensions of built environments. Proportion, geometry, structure, materials, light, and spatial organization are among the elements through which he investigates the relationship between architecture and scenography.
His practice also concerns abandoned, neglected, and overlooked buildings. Rather than treating these structures as obsolete environments, he approaches them as potential sites for artistic intervention and performance. Their material traces, architectural remains, histories and existing conditions become active components in shaping new spatial experiences. In this context, the building itself can function as a scenographic element, without requiring conventional stage construction.
His investigations consider how the transformation or reactivation of an existing building can establish new relationships between performers, spectators, and their surroundings. Irregularities, dimensions, circulation patterns, openings, and material characteristics can influence movement, perception, and the dramaturgy of an event. This approach connects architectural research with site-specific performance and alternative theatrical environments.
For Moradian, architecture is not simply a visual reference for stage design; it is a way of understanding how space acquires meaning through human presence, memory, movement, and use. He explores how former functions and present conditions can coexist, allowing audiences to encounter buildings differently in performance. This also informs architectural model making.
Moradian’s artistic practice extends from stage design into sculpture and three-dimensional form. His approach investigates volume, scale, texture, structure, and the relationship between an object and its surrounding space. He works with a range of materials, including cardboard and other temporary or ephemeral substances, using their physical properties as part of the artistic language.
His experiments with cardboard involve cutting, folding, layering, connecting, and assembling, through which simple materials can become complex sculptural forms. The fragility and temporary character of these materials are not necessarily limitations; they can contribute to the meaning and visual expression of an artwork. The resulting objects may exist independently as sculptures or become elements within a larger scenographic composition.
For Moradian, making is also a way of thinking. The physical process allows him to test ideas, examine balance and proportion, and discover unexpected relationships between materials and forms. This hands-on approach connects conceptual development with the realities of construction and fabrication. His experience in sculpture informs his work as a stage designer, expanding his understanding of objects, spatial composition, and material expression.
Moving between theatrical design and independent sculptural practice, he continues to explore how modest materials can generate expressive forms and transform the perception of space. He also explores the expressive potential of ordinary materials and their dialogue with space. Sculptural thinking informs his scenographic decisions and generates new forms.
Moradian’s experience in stop-motion combines scenographic design, miniature construction, and visual storytelling. He designs and builds miniature environments in which space, objects, lighting, and composition work together to create a coherent visual world. His process involves translating concepts into physical sets, with careful attention to scale, proportion, materials, and structural details.
Each element must respond to the camera’s perspective and remain visually consistent throughout the animation. This practice draws on his experience in stage design and architectural model making, while introducing the specific demands of frame-by-frame production.
Through stop-motion, he explores how constructed spaces can communicate atmosphere, narrative, and movement, extending his scenographic approach into the language of animation.
Moradian’s design process combines conceptual research, visual exploration, technical development, and practical experimentation. He works with freehand sketching, perspective drawing, technical drafting, digital modelling, and three-dimensional visualization to transform initial ideas into developed spatial concepts. These methods support different stages of the process, from exploring visual possibilities to examining dimensions, structures, and construction requirements.
Digital tools contribute to architectural visualization, spatial modelling, image development, and the communication of design concepts. Moradian does not regard technology as a replacement for artistic judgement or manual skills; traditional and digital methods operate alongside one another as complementary ways of investigating ideas.
He also explores artificial intelligence in creative practice, particularly for concept development, image generation, visual research, and the imagining of alternative scenographic environments. His interest extends beyond image production to the ways emerging technologies may influence creative decisions, design processes, and material realization. By combining drawing, technical knowledge, digital applications, and experimentation, he develops flexible methods that connect artistic research with the practical demands of theatrical production.
He considers the designer’s critical role essential when adopting new tools, evaluating their aesthetic, conceptual, and practical consequences. Technology becomes productive when it opens possibilities while remaining connected to a project’s needs. His experiments examine how computational processes support collaboration, documentation, and communication of spatial proposals. These investigations remain grounded in artistic intention rather than novelty. He assesses emerging applications through practical trials and reflection.
EGO Studio
Architectural and scenographic model making is an important part of Moradian’s professional and artistic practice.
His understanding of scale, geometry, materials, structures, and construction techniques enables him to translate spatial concepts into detailed three-dimensional forms. Models serve not only as presentation tools but also as instruments for research, experimentation, and design development.
Through architectural and theatrical maquettes, he investigates spatial relationships, proportions, material behaviour, light, and composition. The physical process of making allows ideas to be tested and modified, revealing possibilities that drawing or digital visualization alone may not disclose.
His expertise also includes designing and constructing miniature environments for stop-motion animation. This work requires attention to scale, precision, construction details, and visual continuity. Miniature sets must function as complete environments while responding to framing, lighting, camera movement, and visual storytelling.
In stop-motion, scenographic design is closely connected to the sequential construction of images and the creation of independent visual worlds. By combining architectural model making, stage maquettes, and miniature set construction, Moradian explores scale as both a technical and artistic instrument.
He uses models to communicate spatial ideas to teams, supporting the transition from concept to construction. Attention to joints, surfaces, scale, and finish contributes to miniature accuracy. This work coordinates design, fabrication, and the camera’s point of view, especially for animation. Each component must remain convincing as an object and within the composed image.
EGO Studio is an educational platform founded by Mostafa Moradian, dedicated to specialized education in stage design and scenography. Developed in response to the need for focused, practice-based training, the studio brings together artistic research, design methods, technical knowledge, and hands-on experience. It provides a structured environment for students and emerging designers to understand the different stages of scenographic practice, from interpreting dramatic texts and developing visual concepts to spatial composition, model making, material exploration, and production.
The studio’s educational approach emphasizes independent thinking, experimentation, and the development of a personal visual language. Rather than limiting stage design to the creation of decorative backgrounds, EGO Studio introduces scenography as an integrated discipline involving space, architecture, objects, light, materials, and the human body. Its courses and workshops connect theoretical foundations with practical exercises, allowing participants to test ideas and understand the relationship between artistic intention and technical realization.
As one of the influential specialized platforms for stage design education, EGO Studio has become an important part of Moradian’s professional and academic activities. Through teaching, research, and creative exchange, it aims to contribute to the development of scenography education and support a new generation of designers. The studio also encourages dialogue between theatre, architecture, visual arts, and contemporary approaches to spatial design.
Research and writing are integral to Moradian’s professional practice. His interests include the history and theory of scenography, architectural thinking, theories of space, and the relationship between architecture and performance.
His publications include Design and Sketching for Theatre, co-authored with Sina Yilagh-Beigi; Stage Techniques, Volumes 1 and 2, co-authored with Fereydoun Aliyari; and Theoretical Foundations of Stage Design.
He also co-translated Rita Kogler’s Stagecraft Fundamentals: A Guide and Reference for Theatrical Production with Maryam Dehghan, published in Persian under the title The Theatre Design Process. Through authorship, translation, and research, he connects theoretical inquiry with practical experience and contributes to educational resources for students and practitioners. His publications support education, knowledge exchange, and research across theatre, architecture, and scenography.