Le Signe, centre national du graphisme is organizing the third edition of the Biennale internationale de design graphique in Chaumont from 27 May to 21 November 2021.

In the continuity of the emblematic Chaumont Poster Festival, the Biennale celebrates graphic design during six months and bringing key figures in the discipline together to share their practice and ongoing projects and to consider its influence through events all around town. 

The theme of this third edition “VIRAL” is also the subject of an exhibition of the same name. It is an invitation for the spectator to reflect upon this term, which refers to the spreading as well as the diffusion of information, images and also those diverging interpretations we make of them. 

In these times of health crisis, the number of diagrams with their abscissa and ordinate axes we have seen has exploded, as well as the audience’s liking for logarithmic curbs and exponential functions or the appearance of a new corps of expert statisticians and polemicists. These images have become viral themselves and their interpretation has been more than ever determined by the respective context and broadcasting channel but also by the graphic choices that were made. The multiplication of this data, these figures and representations has generated a double yet contradictory movement: never before has data been so easy to access for all, yet never before has it led to so much debate regarding its interpretation. With this topical theme, le Signe wishes to question the public on the issue of virality in our society. 

The visitors discover a program highlighting young creators as well as major artists of the graphic design scene with solo exhibitions by Fanette Mellier, the Iranian studio Kargah, Michel Le Petit Didier and Michiel Schuurman.

Next to these, the visitors discover topical exhibitions such as the DEMO ( Design in Motion) Festival, Club Collecte and the exhibition of the student competition. The Biennale is also the opportunity to show the synergy, involvement and attention we pay to collaborations between graphic designers and local audiences. 

On 27 May, the Biennale opens the 29th International Poster Competition, a major event for graphic design professionals. The selection of more than 150 posters among the best of contemporary creation, is showcased in an exhibition. The awards ceremony will be specially adapted in consideration of the current health crisis. 

The Biennale reaches an audience of graphic design professionals and students as well as those who are curious, with the desire of making the discipline more accessible. 

The New York Studio DIA, specialized in motion design and kinetic type and design systems, as well as creations in augmented reality, has been entrusted with the graphic identity of the 2021 Biennale.