Marina Sfakianaki Posters

Marina Sfakianaki, a high-end interior design brand supplying designers and architects with carefully curated design materials, became a sponsor of the Hotel Experience 2025 event at Technopolis City of Athens. This year’s central theme was Luchino Visconti’s iconic Death in Venice. We were invited to design a series of posters inspired by this theme, using them as a means of communicating the brand through atmosphere, symbolism, and artistic expression rather than conventional promotion.

The design challenge was to translate Death in Venice into a contemporary visual language capable of speaking both to cinema history and to Marina Sfakianaki’s world of refined materials and aesthetics. The posters were conceived not as advertising tools, but as autonomous visual statements—objects positioned between graphic design, art, and exhibition ephemera.

Each poster draws from the film’s core themes: beauty, decay, desire, and the passage of time. Human figures appear fragmented, obscured, or erased, echoing Visconti’s portrayal of fading identity and unfulfilled longing. Faces are partially missing, crossed out, dissolved, or rendered as silhouettes, inviting viewers to project their own emotion rather than consume a fixed narrative. Absence becomes as meaningful as presence.

Each poster measures 70 × 100 cm and is designed to fold, functioning simultaneously as a wall poster and as a brochure. As a brochure, the texts on the reverse side can be read in full, extending the life of the object beyond the exhibition wall and positioning it between poster and publication.

Typography plays a restrained yet decisive role. A large, confident, elegant font, influenced by Belle Epoque but with a contemporary touch, enhances the poetry of of the imagery by contrasting with its ambiguity. The name Marina Sfakianaki is treated not as a logo, but as a signature. It’s assertive, calm, and self-assured and anchors each poster within the brand’s universe without overpowering the visual storytelling.

Colour is used with deliberate economy. Muted gradients, deep blues, soft greys, and controlled reds evoke Venice’s fading grandeur and the film’s melancholic atmosphere. These chromatic choices avoid literal nostalgia, instead reinterpreting cinematic emotion through a modern graphic lens. Texture and grain further enhance the sense of time, materiality, and imperfection.

At the bottom of each poster, the names of Marina Sfakianaki’s suppliers, collaborators, and selected clients are presented mirroring the structure and hierarchy found on movie posters. The reverse side continues this idea through dense typographic compositions that resemble a film’s closing credits, transforming professional relationships into an integral part of the narrative.
Installed within the industrial setting of Technopolis, the posters created a striking contrast between raw architecture and refined visual expression. They functioned as an immersive presence rather than signage, inviting visitors to pause, reflect, and engage emotionally.

Through this project, Marina Sfakianaki’s brand communication moves beyond product or service and into cultural authorship. The Death in Venice poster series demonstrates how graphic design can operate as an artistic medium—communicating identity through atmosphere, memory, and visual poetry.