Freddy Carabott, poster for Olympic Cruises, 1969

Freddy Carabott,poster for the Greek National Tourist organization, 1963 Michalis Katzourakis, poster for Epidavros Festival, 1965 from a brochure art direction: Michalis Katzourakis - Yiannis Angelopoulos Design: Agni Katzouraki Photographer: Elli Kanavou Michalis Katzourakis, tourist map covers for Mobil Oil Co, 1967 Michalis Katzourakis, corporate tredemark for the National Bank of Greece Freddy Carabott, logotypes for HBH producers of soft drinks, 1969 magazine advertisment

Design Routes

Freddy Carabott and Agni and Michalis Katzourakis entered the field of visual communication at the end of the nineteen fifties, marking the point when design was transformed from an empirical condition to its complete development into a new art form.

In October 1962 they established “K+K – Athens Publicity Centre” with their partners D. Tsopelas and P. Kanavos. Agni Katzouraki, the soul of the practice’s artistic department, played “godmother” and provided this integrated name.

Their posters, logos and adverts changed the landscape entirely. They imposed a new language on advertising: minimalist, fresh, yet at the same time authentically Greek, often including indirect references to antiquity, Byzantine tradition and folk art, and always with touches of humour. They shaped an internationally-recognisable image of what it meant to be Greek and became ambassadors of an attractive, modern “Greek style”.

The exhibition will include representative samples of both individual works by Freddy Carabott, Agni and Michalis Katzourakis, and their collective work for “K+K – Athens Publicity Centre”, in an attempt to record their creative and artistic contribution to Greek graphic design. This is an initiative by Dimitris Th. Arvanitis, designer and member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI), who also edited the book that accompanies the exhibition.

location
Benaki Museum 138 Pireos street

Organization
Benaki Museum, Hellenic Literature Historical Archive (H.L.H.A)
Sponsors

Hellenic Ministry of Tourism-Greek National Tourism Organisation | National Bank of Greece | OTE S.A. (Hellenic Telecommunications Organization) | Μetal Constructions of Greece SA (METKA) | MICHALIS ORFANOS S.A. | NIKOS SDRALIS

Communication Sponsor
KATHIMERINI Newspaper | LIFO Newspaper | KOSMOS 93.6 FM

image selections from the Design Routs book:

(collective work)
Design Routes: Freddie Carabott - Michalis & Agni Katzourakis
Benaki Museum, Hellenic Literature Historical Archive (E.L.I.A.)
Publication Year: 2008
art direction by Dimitris Arvanitis
(multilingual: Greek / English)