When it came to designing the look of Ripley, the eight-part series (streaming on Netflix now) that once again tells the story of Patricia Highsmith’s charming grifter Tom Ripley and his murderous misadventures in some of Italy’s most beautiful cities, David Gropman was never without a clear vision.

“I don't think there was any question in my mind,” the production designer for the series says, “what a single moment of the design would look like.” For anyone who’s seen the Steven Zallian-directed series, that’s not likely a surprise. After all, the entire thing is shot in black-and-white and leans into sinister beauty, from unsettling Caravaggio paintings and crumbling churches to grand train stations, rambling seaside villas, and prime palazzos.