Fitting the big screen onto a postage stamp
JUST how do you get all the characters from Carry On and Hammer Horror films onto a postage stamp?
That was the challenge faced by Leeds-based creative agency Elmwood Design after winning a hotly contested pitch to design Royal Mail’s most recent set of feature stamps.
But after months of research, clever design and painstaking restoration of old graphics and film posters Elmwood has delivered a set of collectable stamps that any film fan or collector would be proud of.
Award-winning Elmwood was one of several design agencies invited by Royal Mail to tender for the pitch, which was based on the history of film.
According to Richard Scholey, the agency’s creative director, each contender was given a slightly different brief with Elmwood’s focussing on memorabilia.
“We came up with several ideas of how you could approach this but Royal Mail liked the idea of basing something on film posters,” he said.
“A lot of research goes into producing the stamps not only for accuracy but there are a lot of fans out there who have to be kept happy. When you do something like this you discover there are fans for everything.”
There are other design challenges too such as not interfering with the Queen’s head and restoring old images that haven’t stood up to the test of time.
“Some of the poster for the first Carry On films were not only in black and white but very patchy,” recalled Mr Scholey.
“It meant redrawing them completely”
Detail is another important element according to Mr Scholey.
“If you hold a looking glass over the stamp you’ll be able to read all the text that appeared on the original poster.”
It’s not the first set of stamps designed by Elmwood’s creative team and it looks as if it won’t be the last.
The agency has been selected to design a third set although the subject matter cannot yet be revealed. Stamp collectors will have to be patient though as the whole process averages around 18 months.
“It’s not a quick process and there’s a lot of work that goes into designing stamps,” said Mr Scholey.
“However, it’s something that’s very enjoyable.”
