May 7, 2022
Ioanna Christoforou Theochari is an amazing Greek award-winning poet.
She is also my sister.
It was an absolute honor, pleasure, and privilege to design the invitation for the presentation of her first poetry collection, “Το τριαντάφυλλό σου ζει (your rose lives)”, on sale from Iolkos editions, that took place on the 7th of May in Athens, Greece.
Her poems explore the human psyche: its fears, hopes, dreams, passions, and the lifelong search for something that seems to elude us, but that is definitely out there somewhere. Therefore, the event’s invite had to reflect the intimate nature of the poet’s art. It had to be a personal, warm, and direct invitation.
It took the form of a letter authored and signed by the poet herself, composed in GFS Didot. It was printed in high quality matte paper, giving it the realistic look of a letter, with a decisive touch of elegance.
We wanted to create a unique experience right from the moment someone received the envelope, and to maintain the thought of that experience till the actual presentation itself.
Without putting actual text on the envelope, we wished to add something that would be intriguing and engaging for that first impression, and that would remain instantly recognizable once the contents were read and the envelope itself was put aside, an element that would remain as a constant reminder of that upcoming event. Drawing inspiration from the book’s title, I created a black and red illustration of a rosebud.
After receiving an envelope that is simply marked with a rose, the invitee would open the envelope and pull out the folded letter only to instantly read the phrase “Το τριαντάφυλλό σου ζει (your rose lives)”, a message of good news in and of itself.
The invitee would then proceed to unfold the paper and read the letter.
