In 1949, the competition "Die besten Plakate des Jahres" (The Best Posters of the Year) took place for the first time in the newly founded Federal Republic of Germany. Designers could enter poster designs from the past year, a jury of experts awarded prizes for the best works. From 1966 onwards, there was such an annual competition in the GDR too. Many of the commended works from that time are today amongst the canon of German and international design theory. This book tells the eventful history of the competitions and their changing shapes over the decades.