The 12th China International Poster Biennial (CIPB 2025) opened Friday at the China Design Museum in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. Centered on the theme "Design Philosophy in the Folds of Time," this year's biennial continues to advance professional practice, enrich design education, and promote international academic exchange.

Professor Chen Zhengda, one of the biennial's founders and chair of the International Jury, has long championed the philosophy of "Design Ontology," emphasizing that design education goes beyond technical training — it is about cultivating future designers who think critically and act responsibly. From "the dynamic construction of cultural identity" to "resisting technological alienation," from "rethinking ecological ethics" to "innovating educational paradigms," each selected work offers a profound reflection on how design engages with the existential dilemmas of humanity. As Chen notes, "Design is a bridge connecting past and future, the individual and the collective, humanity and nature — it is the light that illuminates the folds of our times."

As a key platform within the China Academy of Art's design discipline, the biennial remains rooted in scholarship while fostering a global dialogue among designers. This year's exhibition received 2,017 submissions from 30 countries and regions, from which 175 outstanding works were selected. These pieces explore design as both "the poetics of problem-solving" and "the poetics of existence," reflecting a transformation in design education — from the transmission of skills to the cultivation of human potential — and shaping interdisciplinary designers who balance technical rigor with humanistic vision.

As a vital medium of visual culture, the poster mirrors the evolution and contemplation of civilization itself. Themed "The Folds of Time," this biennial situates contemporary design practice within the tension between globalization and locality, technological rationality and humanistic values, forming a vivid tableau of multicultural dialogue. Environmental posters employ surreal imagery to confront ecological crises; cultural-themed works evoke collective memory through symbolic recomposition; and motion posters reconstruct audience engagement through temporal storytelling.

Since its inception, the biennial has drawn thousands of designers worldwide, fostering deep dialogue across geography, culture and media, and encouraging creators from diverse backgrounds to explore, together, "the essence of human existence."