Want to enjoy a curated selection of the year’s best posters and standout designs?
In this article, we’ll take you through 10 of the most inspiring examples of graphic design in 2021—plus a surprise bonus round featuring a gallery of posters and prints we found too interesting to leave out.
Designing a poster means balancing many elements, from visual appeal to effective communication.
This roundup is the result of our ongoing pursuit of excellence in graphic design and creativity.
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The main posters featured in this list are:
- Route
- Coexist (Covid) Street Poster Series
- Cells Poster
- Classic Made Moder
- Wood & Tree
- Relay Of Effort
- GlÜCkliche Tage – Happy Days – Oh Les Beaux Jours
- Summer Olympics Posters
- Hills Are Alive
- London Design Festival
Let’s dive into the best posters of 2020–2021
The Best Posters of 2020–2021
ROUTE
This poster perfectly captures the graphic design trends and poster design trends of 2021. The design is primarily handcrafted, with cut-out graphic elements and bold, custom typography. Abstract geometric shapes and striking color contrasts add to its visual impact.
Posters like these are a breath of fresh air for creatives seeking graphic design inspiration and new poster ideas.
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COEXIST (COVID) STREET POSTER SERIES
Another highlight from 2020–2021 is this project by a graphic design studio that noticed, during the Covid-19 lockdown, that spaces usually filled with event posters were left empty and outdated.
With this in mind, they created a series of posters and donated them to a street poster company to fill those empty spaces—promoting solidarity and a positive attitude in challenging times.
The poster is handcrafted, featuring bold, hand-drawn typography combined with abstract elements to spark dialogue with viewers.
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CELLS POSTER
Inspired by the DAO concept (the creation of myriad things) and the word CELLS, this poster was designed for PIY, a flat-pack furniture company challenging traditional norms.
The idea is that a simple style makes assembly more engaging, redefining the relationship between furniture and user.
The poster features a hypnotic arrangement of geometric elements.
To complete the poster design, a high-contrast two-color palette—dominant yellow and defining black—was used.
What’s striking is the three-dimensional perspective, giving the piece the depth that earns it a spot among the best posters of 2020 and 2021.
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CLASSIC MADE MODER
To introduce theater and literary classics to a modern audience, the Chicago Public Library created a series of posters that are both visually striking and contemporary, blending photography and illustration.
These posters feature strong photographic content and a dynamic, cutting-edge digital perspective.
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WOOD & TREE
This is one of the year’s standout posters.
Created for the “Wood & Tree” architecture seminar in Tokyo, Japan, it explores new possibilities for wood in modern architecture.
The poster uses photographs of hundreds of tree rings as references, digitally transforming them into abstract shapes that represent a tree trunk’s cross-section.
The result is a poster that conveys both organic and mathematical sensations, all enhanced by high contrast.
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UNITY POSTER
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Reference
This poster was created to promote the High School Sumo Tournament.
The main idea is to support this traditional sport by highlighting the culmination of effort and teamwork, moving away from the notion that club sports are just about having fun.
Visually, it stands out as one of the best posters of 2021 for its use of typography, high-contrast black-and-white imagery, and the repetition of elements to create compelling patterns.
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