With over 100 entries, the “Design the Poster” competition, co-organized with Vakalo Art & Design College, has successfully concluded. The competition focused on designing the graphics for the OPEN HOUSE Athens & Thessaloniki 2026 events. The winner is Marios Alexandros Poulimenos*, who will receive a full scholarship worth up to €2,500 to attend one of the six one-year workshops offered by Vakalo College.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to all participants for their inspiring and original submissions.
“Symvasilevouses (Co-Reigning)” is a visual diptych depicting Athens and Thessaloniki through the mythical female figures from whom they take their names — the goddess Athena and Thessalonike, sister of Alexander the Great. Each figure symbolically embraces her city while gazing toward the other, capturing the relationship, connection, and dialogue between the two cities.
In each poster, several landmarks of the city are illustrated in light tones, along with some of the buildings that participated in the first Open House events in Athens and Thessaloniki respectively. Together, these elements form a pattern-like composition, rendered in a way that invites the viewer to come closer in order to notice and recognize them.
The background colors were chosen according to the atmosphere of each city at the time the event takes place — yellow for Athens and blue for Thessaloniki. Finally, the titles use a very simple typeface, enriched with small details in which certain letters are replaced by hand-drawn illustrations of hands.
* Marios Alexandros Poulimenos is from Corfu and is currently a fourth-year student at the School of Architecture of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He is inspired by architecture and design that go beyond aesthetics — design that is thoughtful, sustainable, and responsive to its environment. In his design process he pays close attention to detail, while his knowledge of digital design tools helps him translate his ideas into visual form.
