People of Cinema Year: Screening of a Documentary About the “King of the Polish Logo”

As part of the People of Cinema Year 2026, the Municipal Cultural Centre in Bydgoszcz invites audiences to a screening of the documentary Signs of Mr. Śliwka (Znaki Pana Śliwki) on 16 June at the Orzeł Cinema.

According to the organisers, the documentary is a kaleidoscope of archival materials and personal recollections that reveal a fascinating portrait of both a remarkable individual and an era, while taking viewers on a journey through a changing Poland. The film marks the feature-length directorial debut of Urszula Morga and Bartosz Mikołajczyk. Its world premiere took place at the 41st Warsaw Film Festival in 2025.

The documentary presents the life and work of internationally renowned graphic designer Karol Śliwka. The filmmakers drew on unique archival materials and private video recordings that Śliwka himself had documented over many years.

Karol Śliwka was one of Poland’s most distinguished graphic designers and creators of visual identities. Often referred to as the “King of the Polish Logo,” he designed more than 400 trademarks and logos, many of which became permanent elements of Poland’s visual culture. Among his most famous works is the iconic piggy-bank logo of PKO Bank Polski.

In 2015, he was included among the eight most outstanding logo designers in the world in the prestigious publication Logo Modernism. Throughout his career, he received more than one hundred awards for his logo, poster, and packaging designs.

Śliwka was born on 16 October 1932 in Harbutowice in the Cieszyn Silesia region. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw and began his professional career in the late 1950s. His breakthrough came with an award-winning design for Syrena cigarette packaging, which led to numerous commissions for packaging, posters, postage stamps, and corporate visual identities.

In addition to logos, he designed posters, labels, packaging, and book covers. His style was characterised by exceptional simplicity, a highly synthetic approach to form, and an ability to condense complex ideas into a single, memorable symbol. He believed that a successful logo should be simple, functional, and metaphorical at the same time.

Karol Śliwka passed away on 10 September 2018.

Promotion Department
Paweł Jankowski

15 June 2026