Beethoven stamps win post office international praise

Saturday 20 June 2020

A set of stamps celebrating world-famous composer Ludwig van Beethoven's 250th birthday produced by Jersey Post have received international praise.

The commemorative group won in the Communication Arts magazine’s 61st annual design competition.

Of the 2,947 entries submitted for the competition, only 126 were selected as winners by an international jury of creative professionals.

The winning projects will be reproduced in the September/October 2020 issue of the Communication Arts Design Annual, of which more than 25,000 copies will be distributed worldwide.

Pictured: Jersey Post worked with Hat-Trick Design (London) Ltd. o bring the stamps to life.

Jersey Post’s winning stamp designs represent some of Beethoven’s most famous compositions, with each of the designs incorporating a portrait of the composer, a letter or number signifying the name of the musical piece, an excerpt from the musical score and a key musical instrument from the piece. 

They are the result of a creative collaboration between London-based Hat-Trick Design and Jersey Post, who worked closely to bring the stamps to life.

“We are absolutely delighted to see Jersey Post recognised on a global stage,” David McGrath, Jersey Post’s Head of Marketing, said. “Beethoven’s 250^th birth anniversary is a major international celebration and we wanted to take the opportunity to create something contemporary and exciting that stood out from the crowd and captured the creative process.

"We’re always striving for new and innovative stamp designs and it’s extremely rewarding to see our stamps recognised alongside such world-class creative work.”

Pictured: David McGrath, Jersey Post’s Head of Marketing.

Hat-Trick Design worked with the Beethoven-Haus Bonn, which houses the world's most significant Beethoven collection.

"Beethoven is often viewed as a revolutionary artist, so this was an opportunity for us to have a more contemporary take on his influence," Gareth Howat, Creative Director, said. 

"The brief was to use portraits from the archive, but we were keen to break away from the way they have been used in the past and produce something fresh. We wanted the designs to make use of really vivid colours to reflect the richness of the music, and the stamps were printed using a six colour hexachrome process to add real punch.

"We really enjoyed working in a collaborative way with Jersey Post and the Museum, and we are really delighted to get international recognition for the project!”