Chopin 210

Brief
Celebrate Chopin’s
210th Birthday

Year
2020

The Polish Embassy in Dublin held a poster competition for local graphic design students to commemorate Polish composer Fryderyk Chopin’s 210th birthday in the spring of 2020. Inspired by the rich history of Polish poster designs, I embraced the opportunity to create something handmade, which I then translated to a digital design.

The Process

I wanted to keep the colors simple: red and white for the Polish flag, with black to round it out. I noticed when I created a cutout of the piano’s body that the negative space it created in the black paper could be used to create the bulk of Chopin’s profile, while the piano served a dual purpose for his signature flowing locks.

In the spirit of further repurposing paper scraps in the poster, I decided to use the red holes intended for the “o” and “p” as emphasis marks on Chopin’s brow and cheek. Final typographic cutout details were added to describe the occasion and the dates.

The winner of the design competition was chosen via popular vote on the Polish Embassy’s Facebook page. While I didn’t win, I am proud of the work and consider it a reminder of the merits of experimenting with physical media instead of diving straight into digital design.