Vancouver FIFA World Cup 2026 Host City Poster Design
Thanks to my friends for introducing me to the FPL Fantasy draft (or no thanks as it takes over your life!) I’ve been on a football buzz and I wanted to take on a personal design project.
I embarked on creating a conceptual host city poster for the FIFA World Cup 2026™. With Vancouver, BC selected as one of the host cities for this historic tournament— jointly hosted by Canada, the United States, and Mexico. I saw this as a great an opportunity to blend local culture with global football heritage. And to have fun designing and exploring different themes!
This personal project explores potential visual directions for Vancouver's World Cup identity, drawing inspiration from both the city's distinctive characteristics and the international spirit of football's biggest competition.
Design Objectives & Cultural Context
The design challenge was to integrate the city's iconic elements—coastal mountains, blue lakes, diverse wildlife including bears and whales, and rainforests—with the global excitement of football. Beyond showcasing Vancouver's natural beauty, the poster aims to celebrate the city's role in bringing the world's most popular sport to the Pacific Northwest.
I always try to sketch out ideas first, whether this is on paper or in Procreate on my iPad. This exploratory phase included developing angles, compositions, shapes and line work. I can always be too precious with ideas and I always want to “get it right” straight away but there was something freeing in drawing and doodling absolutely anything that came to mind.
Visual Development & Exploration
Moving from initial sketches to refined concepts, I developed a concept that speaks to Vancouver's unique character. The initial design direction emerged from the metaphor: Vancouver as a world-stage centrepiece, elevated like a World Cup trophy itself. This concept evolved into a composition where the city rises organically, supported by the arc of a whale's fin—a symbol of the Pacific coast's marine heritage. The arrangement allows Vancouver's defining elements to almost escape out of the trophy silhouette, creating a celebration of both sporting achievement and Vancouver’s nature.
To dig deep into the life of Vancouver I looked at textures, patterns and indigenous artists to really set up a picture of what a Vancouver inspired poster would look like. My exploration of Vancouver's visual identity drew from direct experiences across British Columbia's landscapes.
Coastal Influences: Vancouver’s beaches, starfish, shells, sand, sea patterns, sea foam
Mountain & Forest Studies: Organic textures found in forest floors, tree bark, and mountain rock faces
Urban Art Vancouver's vibrant Murals: How urban culture interprets local identity.
Indigenous Artistic Heritage: Study of Indigenous art forms and patterns
Wildlife Symbolism: The diverse wildlife of British Columbia. Each animal represents and embodies specific qualities - just like dynamics of different football teams, rivalry and teamwork.
While Vancouver's beauty provided the foundation, I needed to get the sport of football to take center stage. I drew and explored different footballer silhouettes and how their body changes in shape and movement for different acts in the game such as the arc of a perfectly timed header or the explosive power of a strike. The electric energy of live football influenced the design's sense of scale and movement. I looked at how parts of the crowd really convey the energy of the event and helps the viewer imagine the atmosphere in Vancouver during the World Cup.
While the whale trophy motif successfully captured Vancouver's essence, further development was needed to strengthen the football narrative. The design process led me through several iterations. First I expanded on the initial concept and explored different treatments such as geometric styling that could be harmonised with Indigenous artistic influences. I found it was an interesting approach but something was missing. I researched into past World Cup poster designs and I found football themes were primarily the main focus, while location tended to be secondary. I needed to create a poster that was bold and sport-centric but still cultural to Vancouver to create a distinct sense of place.
Playing with size and scale I found the design coming to life when the illustrations and patterns were in larger focus and started developing a pattern around the footballer silhouette. The elements guided the eye from the primary focus of the sport to the location designs and finally to the text to highlight the event itself.
The Final
The whole design process of the poster felt like my own World Cup. The group stages were full of concepts and research as I started finalising and trouble shooting to get to the round of 16. Each round of refinement brought stronger ideas forward. I am now in the final and I found a design I am happy with. I feel it is bold, vibrant and showcases the excitement of the tournament, as well as capturing the heart of Vancouver and clearly communicating the event by providing a composition that guides the viewer through a creative journey to the nitty gritty details of where and when. In true World Cup fashion, reaching the final design was a journey of persistence. Now how do I get tickets?
