The Prelude Exhibition of The First Shanghai Graphic Design Biennale – TopoPoster: International Poster Design Exhibition, after six months (June – December, 2025) of planning and preparation, was successfully held from December 13 to December 22, 2025. As one of the larger-scale exhibitions in recent years featuring an international selection of works in China, it showcased over 300 representative poster designs from 153 influential contemporary designers and studios active in the forefront of the field across 28 countries.
Le monde autour
The title of the exhibition can be translated as The World Around, Remains and Omens. The focus is on three pieces of paper set against a grey background. Though the papers remain blank, this enhances the concept suggested by the title - that everything is happening around them.
Since the exhibition was being held in historical medieval locations, I wanted to evoke a subtle mystical atmosphere through the typography used for the main title. The poster was conceived as an animation from the very beginning of the process. I mimicked the drawing style of David Coste for the title, imagining it appearing and fading as if blown by the wind through a field of tall grass — evoking traces of a past and omens waiting to be deciphered.
This idea was heavily inspired by the animations of Hayao Miyazaki. David Coste's work often references cinema, and I aimed to reflect that with a cinematic look.
Félix Charrier
@felixcharrier