Graphic Stories Cyprus invited all the creative people to take part in the 3rd international poster contest titled “Graphic Design, Challenging the Perception” and to see their work printed, by creating their own postcard.

The international contest was part of the 5th Conference on Graphic Design and Visual Communication in Cyprus that took place on 15-17 of March 2019, in Nicosia.

Design is the common language of millions of people on earth, owes its power and effectiveness to the diversity of its creators, their particular perception and their heterogeneous roots, but knows no boundaries, commitments, religions or green lines. Design has become the most powerful means by which man can shape his environment and thereby, society and himself and cause a real change. Graphic Design has the power to shape, influence, challenge, and eventually change the common perception, the way we see, understand or interpret something. Graphic Design requires creativity and imagination, and these are based on perception. What we perceive is more than what our eyes or ears bring to our brains, it is a product of our own mind. Perception is a combination of what we see, our past experience, and our particular view of a situation.

It is also the ability to see, hear or understand something through our senses and then interpret it using logic, emotion or in any other way, ultimately producing a mental impression. Perception is not static, but it is altered and shaped, influenced by a number of factors. Visual communication designers have not only the right tools and knowledge but also the responsibility to challenge, influence and change the common perception. The theme of the contest, “Graphic Design, Challenging the Perception”, as well as the respective exhibition, aim to highlight and promote the value of Graphic Design in terms of shaping and challenging the common perception.

Participants in the contest were invited to visualize their thoughts, ideas and concerns about Design’s power to shape and challenge the perception, they were asked to challenge the perception.