DISCOVER JESSICA HISCHE SARA FANELLI UNITED STATES ITALY / UNITED KINGDOM etterer and illustrator Jessica ara Fanelli is an Italian-born British artist and illustra- STAMP STORIES Hische has made it onto the tor, best known for her experimental illustrations in Forbes 30 Under 30 list not PHOTO BY KARI ORVIK children’s picture books. She has also done work for once, but twice. She has be- a diverse range of clients, including the New Yorker, Postage stamps are always memorable and Lcome an icon, not only for the work she S Tate Modern, the has created for high-calibre clients like Victoria and Albert evocative, whether because they represent the The New York Times, Tiffany & Co. and Nike, among others, but Museum and many also for her brilliant side projects (or “procastiworking,” as she others. nostalgic feeling of receiving news from afar or calls it), such as the witty flowchart “Should I Work for Free?” Her work combines RAFAEL DAVIDSON and the Daily Drop Cap project, for which she created an il- because they remind us of a childhood looking drawing and ele- SPAIN / MEXICO lustrative letter every day. ments of collage with at tiny stamps from all over the world, imagining Her lettering style is detailed and intricate but can also be bold a profound sense of ward-winning designer Rafael Da- the stories they delivered inside their envelopes. and modern, achieving a perfect balance of legibility and deco- design and typog- vidson was born in Spain and grew ration. “I like pushing something as far as I can with decora- raphy. Sara’s unique up in Mexico, where he built a The following stamp stories give us a glimpse tion, without pushing it too far where all of the sudden it is all style, which incorpo- prominent career in industrial de- about the decoration rather than the letterforms themselves,” rates vibrant colours, Asign. He now lives in California, where he com- into the fascinating processes behind designing, she says. energetic patterns, bines sailing with teaching part-time at the textures and writ- Academy of Art University of San Francisco. She designed the 2015 Forever Hearts stamp for the United curating and collecting postage stamps. ing, has earned her several international awards, including an States Postal Service (USPS) in collaboration with art director Among Rafael’s biggest achievements is design- Honorary RDI (Royal Designer for Industry) in 2006—the first Antonio Alcalá. Jessica first created a few pencil sketches of ing the famous Mexico Ex- woman illustrator to be awarded this honour. lacy lettering, exploring different typographic styles within porta postage stamp series. Antonio’s conceptual direction. After the sketches were ap- In 1998, Sara was commissioned by the Royal Mail to design a In 1974, the Mexican Postal proved, she finished the art digitally. “In the process of moving postage stamp that would become part of the Millennium Se- and Commercial Trade Of- from sketch to digital, there are always a lot of edits or elabora- ries, which celebrated inventions from the closing millennium. fice held a contest to design TEXT BY tions that occur,” she says. “I find it incredibly valuable to break Sara’s stamp commemorated the development of the bicycle. a stamp series to promote down your creation process into several distinct steps, if only Mexican exports. “I submit- ANDREA MARVAN Sara was given a tight brief as a guideline for the project: the because there is a lot of room for reflection and criticism along ted my proposal without stamp had to praise the invention of the bicycle and highlight the way.” The word “forever” is written in a mono-weight sans, much hope,” Rafael recalls, its role in the emancipation of women, but it also had to make blending seamlessly with ornamentation—“like there is this hid- “and a few months later they called. I had won!” reference to the environmentally friendly aspect of cycling and den little message within,” as Jessica puts it. Back then he was doing a lot of commercial work, the beginning of the signage system. It was a lot to cover, but and designing the stamps was a much-appreciat- jessicahische.is Sara created a magnificent design that subtly combined all ed creative break. of the requested elements. The design won the D&AD Silver Award for postage stamp design. Each stamp in the series was based on an item that Mexico exported, such as strawberries, cat- “I tried to keep the design as close to my personal work as pos- tle, denim and shoes. But Rafael was not given a sible. I was thrilled that they let me keep the dog on wheels, list of items in advance, because the stamps were too—often a feature in my images at the time,” she says. “The requested on an as-needed basis. “I didn’t know greatest challenge was fitting all the points of the brief on such much about designing stamps. How do you de- a small area. I dealt with the signage system using a background sign for something so small? The only way was by texture—red arrows on orange—and with the environmentally being very minimalistic,” he says. friendly aspect by adding the trees in the background.” The series was produced from 1975 to 1993, cov- sarafanelli.com a strong understanding of stamp collecting. It idents. They made me smile,” she says. Now, as a ering 28 themes and 112 official variations. Prob- KAREN HORTON grew organically,” says Karen. While working at graphic designer, Karen has started to steer away ably the most recognized and collected series of UNITED STATES a kibbutz, Karen’s mother became penpals with from the bright, pictorial stamps that caught her Mexican stamps, it is appreciated not only for of visitors from all over the world and began col- its unique graphic design but also because of the aren Horton’s portfolio presents her eye as a child, preferring typographic designs. lecting the stamps. The collection grew recently collecting challenges it presents, given the great considerable talents as a book cover “I could never have a favourite stamp,” admits Kar- variation in paper weight, grades, watermarks and designer, but beyond her design cre- when Karen began adding stamps that she found to be visually interesting. The Chelsea Flea Mar- en. “Part of my problem with stamp collecting was plate flaws. dentials Karen has an inspiring online that I could never settle on a specific country, time Kpresence as curator of Stamp Designs, which fea- ket was one of her favourite hunting spots, where Despite technology and budget restrictions, such period or aesthetic. My tastes were constantly tures vintage stamps from she spent countless hours selecting stamps: “As a as a limitation to one or two ink colours, Rafael general rule, if I couldn’t identify the country, year evolving. But I always liked the Bulgarian stamps accomplished a highly sophisticated level of ab- around the world. PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF MUSEO by Stefan Kanchev, particularly his 1971 Arrival of and artist, the stamp stayed in the back burner straction and synthesis. Keeping in mind that DE FILATELIA DE OAXACA AND RAFAEL Karen’s curating journey be- pile.” Spring series. I like the simplicity of the designs these stamps were going to be seen worldwide, DAVIDSON. gan a few years ago when and how well they work together. Even when you he had to convey a universal idea in the clearest Karen’s taste has evolved over the years, but she she was archiving the col- overlay each stamp on top of each other, you can and most effective way possible. “If we couldn’t be still has a soft spot for Israeli stamps, partly be- lection her mom started see how harmoniously they fit together.” competitive because of the technology, we had to cause they filled the stamp books Karen used to while growing up in Israel. be competitive design-wise,” says Rafael. “She didn’t particularly have covet as a kid. “They are very colourful and I used stampdesigns.tumblr.com to find them more interesting than stamps of pres- karen-horton.squarespace.com mufi.org.mx 34 UPPERCASE uppercasemagazine.com 35 GAIL ANDERSON UNITED STATES had always wanted to design a postage stamp. I mean, who wouldn’t?” says New York-based designer and writer Gail Anderson. Gail’s exten- sive credentials include a stint as senior art director at Rolling Stone magazine, teacher at the New York School of Visual Arts, co-author of MICHAEL RUSSEM “Iseveral books on typography and design, and recipient of the AIGA Medal for Lifetime Achievement in 2008. Now she can add to this list not only UNITED STATES stamp designer but also member of the USPS Citizens’ Stamp Advisory etterpress printer Michael Russem founded Committee. In 2013, Gail was commissioned by USPS art director Antonio Kat Ran Press in 1994. Combining classical Alcalá to produce a commemora- typography and contemporary art with the tive stamp celebrating the 150th old ideals of fine printing, the staff of Kat Ran anniversary of the Emancipation LPress has designed books and portfolios for a variety Proclamation issued by President of clients. Additionally, Michael holds a vast collection Lincoln. “I got a phone message of ephemera that includes nearly 2,000 stamps cre- PHOTO BY LANCE HIDY from Antonio completely out of the ated by notable type and graphic designers. blue, and listened to it about four times before I called back,” recalls “I would not call myself a stamp collector,” Michael Gail. “Antonio was so nice and so clarifies. “I collect graphic design, typography and lettering that just so hap- gracious that I was immediately put pens to be on stamps.