GRAPHIC DESIGN

Aris Georgiou's graphic design

If it is true that the art of design has its origins in the need to divide up and organize space, then architects can be said to have been the very first designers.

It is a fact that the training of an architect involves a significant part of the training of a graphic designer – the field of visual composition. Only very few architects, of course, become involved with the graphic arts, and even fewer take up graphic design as their profession. And when we look at the graphic work of Aris Georgiou, it is obvious that this is not a role he actively pursued; it evolved naturally through his own professional activities and through aspects of his many-faceted personality.

All of Aris Georgiou’s graphic work has been done for one of three reasons: as part of a comprehensive architectural or decorative project, as a natural development of his engagement with his other great passion – photography, or as a reflection of his relationship with the artistic, musical and literary communities of the city of Thessaloniki.

Aris Georgiou’s graphic design work is particularly distinctive. Most of his work involves photographic elements, but typography also often plays a central role (for example, in the covers of Parallaxis events), while some of his typographic conventions have been copied by others (in particular the use of lower case for the stressed letters in a word [or logo] printed in capitals).

To conclude, Georgiou’s design work must be seen within the broader sphere of his creative activity as a whole, while the latter places him among the most important representatives of the arts in Thessaloniki – a group small enough to be counted on the fingers of two hands.

Angelos Bakas

Designer, teacher, author