In 2023, the Paimio Sanatorium and Grafia, the Association of Visual Communication Designers in Finland, celebrated their 90th anniversaries by organising a poster competition where participants were invited to explore Aino and Alvar Aalto's vision of the human relationship with the environment. The Paimio Sanatorium 90 – Human Perspective poster competition received hundreds of submissions from around the world, and the awarded entries are introduced in this collection. Printed on high-quality paper, the posters spread joy around them while conveying the message of well-being and care cherished by the Aaltos.
The Beyond Function poster by Linda Linko features the richness of colour and expressive power typical of the visual artist. The designer's starting point for the poster was the experience of joy as well as the beauty and humanity beyond the sanatorium's function. According to Linko herself, one interpretation of the poster could be that it represents a memory, with only fragments and a sense of the overall atmosphere lingering – it might be one of the designer's own memories, or perhaps one of a former patient of the sanatorium.
Linda Linko's Beyond Function received an honourable mention in the Paimio Sanatorium 90 poster competition.
• Read the story: Meet the winners of the Paimio Sanatorium 90 poster competition! >
