Designed to be put up outdoors, posters are part of the public sphere. In the best examples, their visual message does not only serve an advertising purpose, but has artistic merit in itself. Today, given the huge variety of advertising media, ranging from trendy neon signs to large screen displays in cities, posters on hoardings and billboards are few and far between. However, no matter whether produced in large quantities using offset printing or as single copies, posters still have the potential to be relevant to our lives. They share a commonality with books, as a printed medium in a digital world. It is a great honour for us as an art book publisher to be responsible for the publication of 100 Beste Plakate starting in 2017, and to collaborate on the yearbooks, which are an extension of the competition in printed form. What a relief to know that paper still is, and will hopefully remain, a viable medium! Since 2002, a yearly competition has been organised by the association 100 Beste Plakate e.V.. A changing international jury selects innovative posters from some 2000 submissions in categories such as corporate design, advertising and artistic prints. Established institutions, graphic design agencies and advertising companies from Germany, Austria and Switzerland as well as students from all German-speaking universities and design schools, are eligible to take part. The idea is not only to honour top achievements but also to do justice to the medium in all its variety. The association has been a long-standing independent player in the genre, responsible for promoting creativity and providing motivation to innovate. The cover of 100 Beste Plakate 16 was designed by Yuan Wang, a student at Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach. Yuan's designs were selected by the executive board from a range of works during a presentation of Professor Sascha Lobe's class, who manages the project. Yuan, born 1988 in Jiangsu (China), has received a number of international awards (TDC New York, Golden Bee Moscow International Biennale of Graphic Design, iF Design Award, Berliner Type Award) and was one of the laureates of 100 Beste Plakate 15.
