Polish School of Posters

The Polish School of Posters was a postwar graphic-design movement known for expressive, painterly posters that combined bold imagery with inventive lettering.

Connect

Poster: A printed or digital announcement designed to communicate information or promote an idea in a visible display. Posters were the movement’s medium, carrying its images into streets, cinemas, and theatres.
Metaphor: A figure of speech or image that represents one thing through another. Poster artists used visual metaphor to suggest a film, play, or idea without depicting it literally.
Henryk Tomaszewski: A Polish graphic artist and educator whose posters helped shape the postwar Polish poster movement. His economical, witty compositions and teaching influenced generations of poster designers.
Film poster: A poster that promotes a film through imagery, titles, and release information. Polish film posters often interpreted a film’s atmosphere instead of reproducing its stars or scenes.
International Poster Biennale in Warsaw: An international poster exhibition and competition established in Warsaw in 1966. The biennale brought global attention to Polish poster design and fostered exchange among designers.
Graphic design: The practice of arranging visual elements to communicate information or ideas. The movement transformed graphic design by treating lettering and illustration as a unified expression.
Hand lettering: Letters drawn or painted individually as an intentional part of a composition. Hand-drawn titles let lettering echo a poster’s imagery, mood, and brushwork.
Jan Lenica: A Polish graphic artist, poster designer, and animated-film director known for expressive visual work. His posters brought distorted figures and energetic drawing to the movement’s visual vocabulary.
Theatre poster: A poster advertising a theatrical production or performance. Theatre commissions encouraged symbolic images that could evoke a play without summarizing its plot.
Poster Museum at Wilanów: A museum in Warsaw devoted to poster art, opened in 1968 as a branch of the National Museum. Its collections preserve Polish poster history and place the movement within a wider international field.