Athens, Greece-based designer Charis Tsevis just put out a new set called Chariots of Color 2012 that’s inspired by the upcoming London Olympics. I love his choice of colors and how the type is placed so that it gives the illusion that there’s motion in each piece.
Over the years, we’ve featured Charis’ fantastic work many times here on My Modern Met (see here and here). He’s become one of our favorite friends to work with. Charis was kind enough to answer our questions about this particular project and he also sent us these high-res images to share with you all.
I love how you can feel a sense of motion in these pieces. Was that deliberate?
Trying to express motion in bi-dimensional design is something that has always fascinated me. I am a big fan of the Futurists for this exact reason. So I am really happy if you feel this way about my work.
How do you think your work has evolved over the years?
The great thing about knowledge and art is that the more you search the more you understand that you know nothing.
People used to ask me how I can still be in love with some design subjects like mosaics or pattern theory for more than 10 years. The answer is that I am still discovering so much. The more I study and experiment, the more I find. I really like to look, in depth, at concepts and ideas.
So, to answer the question, I would say that my work has gone more deep in some visual problems. It’s something similar to this incredible old fashioned love of couples. Old people that are so in love that they’re like teenagers. But still, they share so many things…
Are there more London 2012 pieces coming?
Probably. I really feel the technique could go further. I want to experiment with different color palettes and typographic parameters. The five colors I have used are all very light. I would like to add some darker ones in order to create a different atmosphere.
Was this a personal project?
Yep! I love to working on these projects for months parallel to my commercial projects. I discover so much that I can incorporate later into my professional work. Even though I’m lucky enough to work on many cutting-edge projects, there is always the need to dedicate a big period of time to specific developmental work.
What do you hope others get out of this project?
I would be really happy if people would understand the relationship between the typographic collages of the Punk Rock era and the ASCII art-inspired computer graphics. Building virtual bridges between different visual communication ideas is something I really love.
Then there is this bigger conversation one can make about the Olympics. As a Greek I am always interested in seeing how an ancient idea has traveled in time and place. There is so much to discover, to learn and to create. It’s the same discussion about the love of the old couple, once again.
Let the party begin! (Gymnastics and the opening ceremony!)
Back to where it all started! (Soccer returns to its birth place.)
Dream city (Basketball)
Reaching new heights! (Long jump)
Chariots of color (Running for the gold and for the honor)