With dozens of entries, the “Design the Poster” competition, co-organized with Vakalo Art & Design College, for the design of the poster and t-shirt of OPEN HOUSE Athens 2023, with the theme “Sustainability,” has concluded. The winner is Chloe Dargonakis,* who also receives a full scholarship worth up to €2,200 to attend one of the one-year workshops “Web Comics,” “Photography,” or “Artist Books” at Vakalo School.
This year’s theme of Open House Athens inspired me to create a poster where architecture and nature meet. As Mario Pei once wrote, “Good architecture lets nature in.” In my poster, I illustrate this phrase by forming a building from which green tendrils emerge, intertwining architecture with plants. My work is based on the contrast between the straight and planned lines found in architecture and the fluid and unpredictable forms found in nature. These fluid lines also represent the entire Open House Athens event: the journey people take when visiting buildings and houses in the city.
* Chloe Dargonakis is a Greek-French graphic artist born in Athens. After graduating in June 2021 from the IFDEC School of Art and Design in Rennes, France, she returned to Athens and began working as a junior graphic designer in a Greek design studio. Although she is multilingual (Greek, French, English), Chloe finds it easier to express herself through her designs rather than words. Giving identity and personality to someone’s work (event, company, or brand) is a source of excitement and passion for her, and she feels fortunate to call it her profession. Having worked with various forms and tools in graphic design, she is always ready and enthusiastic to learn a different form of art and broaden her horizons. Chloe also works on her own projects as a freelance professional. In her free time, she enjoys exploring new places and cultures. In the future, she hopes to combine travel and work in her career path.