87 heat. Professor Hardie says his favourite stamp was the one of three fezes. When the stamp was heated, for instance, by the warmth of a person’s thumb, a hidden pyramid appeared beneath one of the hats. He says the most challenging aspect of the project was coming up with the tricks. “It was great fun and a lovely thing to be asked to make a good idea look really good,” said Professor Hardie. The stamps were nominated for a D&AD Silver Award and were accepted for inclusion in the Annual of the Association of Illustrators. Professor Hardie said designing and illustrating stamps is a complicated business: the designs and illustrations have to go before a committee made up of philatelists, top designers, marketing professionals and other members of the Post Office. Design is therefore not the only consideration. There are many rules to adhere to, the main one being to make each stamp within a collection distinct so that each denomination is recognisable. “It’s a strange business,” he said. “You are designing tiny posters that might become iconic.” Professor Hardie, a Royal Designer for Industry, has been involved in the design and illustration of a number of stamps, including a stamp to commemorate the opening of the Channel Tunnel. The Queen, who approves all stamps, suggested that his illustration – a French Cockerel shaking hands with an English Lion – needed to be toned down a bit: the cockerel looked a bit fierce. Recently Professor Hardie, who also designed the first Led Zeppelin album cover, worked on a collection of stamps to celebrate the centenary of the Magic Circle. The Royal Mail commissioned Amanda Tatham to design the set. Professor Hardie’s job was to turn the design into reality. He worked on the illustrations with one of his former students on the Sequential Design and Illustration MA course, Sam Griffiths, who was Tatham’s assistant (and had been George’s assistant). Griffiths suggested trying to put some magic into the stamps by making them interactive. Professor Hardie and Griffiths looked at different ways of doing this – through optical illusion and through thermographic inks which respond to There can hardly be a better way for a designer to reach the masses than through designing and illustrating postage stamps. “It’s not every designer who can say they’ve had 40 million people licking the back of one of their illustrations,” commented Professor George Hardie of the Faculty of Arts and Architecture. PULLING STAMPS OUT OF A HAT transforming research culture Royal Mail Magic Circle Stamp Royal Mail Photo Library © Royal Mail Group 2007 86

PULLING STAMPS OUT OF A HAT - University of Brighton · Cockerel shaking hands with an English Lion – needed to be toned down a bit: the cockerel looked a bit fierce. Recently Professor

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Page 1: PULLING STAMPS OUT OF A HAT - University of Brighton · Cockerel shaking hands with an English Lion – needed to be toned down a bit: the cockerel looked a bit fierce. Recently Professor

heat. Professor Hardie says his favourite stamp was the one of three fezes. When the stamp was heated, for instance, by the warmth of a person’s thumb, a hidden pyramid appeared beneath one of the hats. He says the most challenging aspect of the project was coming up with the tricks. “It was great fun and a lovely thing to be asked to make a good idea look really good,” said Professor Hardie.

The stamps were nominated for a D&AD Silver Award and were accepted for inclusion in the Annual of the Association of Illustrators. Professor Hardie said designing and illustrating stamps is a complicated business: the designs and illustrations have to go before a committee made up of philatelists, top designers, marketing professionals and other members of the Post Office. Design is therefore not the only consideration. There are many rules to adhere to, the main one being to make each stamp within a collection distinct so that each denomination is recognisable. “It’s a strange business,” he said. “You are designing tiny posters that might become iconic.”

Professor Hardie, a Royal Designer for Industry, has been involved in the design and illustration of a number of stamps, including a stamp to commemorate the opening of the Channel Tunnel. The Queen, who approves all stamps, suggested that his illustration – a French Cockerel shaking hands with an English Lion – needed to be toned down a bit: the cockerel looked a bit fierce. Recently Professor Hardie, who also designed the first Led Zeppelin album cover, worked on a collection of stamps to celebrate the centenary of the Magic Circle.

The Royal Mail commissioned Amanda Tatham to design the set. Professor Hardie’s job was to turn the design into reality. He worked on the illustrations with one of his former students on the Sequential Design and Illustration MA course, Sam Griffiths, who was Tatham’s assistant (and had been George’s assistant). Griffiths suggested trying to put some magic into the stamps by making them interactive.

Professor Hardie and Griffiths looked at different ways of doing this – through optical illusion and through thermographic inks which respond to

There can hardly be a better way for a designer to reach the masses than through designing and illustrating postage stamps. “It’s not every designer who can say they’ve had 40 million people licking the back of one of their illustrations,” commented Professor George Hardie of the Faculty of Arts and Architecture.

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Royal Mail Magic Circle StampRoyal Mail Photo Library© Royal Mail Group 2007