Download - UK First Stamp Designs
Ollie Saward
The following series’ of postage stamp designs
have been designed in response to the Royal
Mail’s competition brief of ‘UK Firsts’.
The brief asked designers to celebrate the idea
of ‘firsts’ and create stamps that inspire the
nation whilst instilling a sense of national pride.
I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I
enjoyed designing them.
Ollie
—Colour Blind Diagnosis
In 1897 English Chemist John Dalton was
the first person to accurately diagnose colour
blindness. Because of his discovery the term
Daltonism was used to describe the condition
although it is now referred to as deuteranopia.
To commemorate Dalton’s breakthrough the
later designed Ishihara colour test has been
employed to represent the discovery.
—Marshall Amplifiers
Marshall Amplifiers were the first amplifier
company to introduce a certain type of
valve in their amps, the higher-gain ECC83
valves running throughout the preamp, the
introduction of which effectively creating ‘loud’
guitar amps of today.
For this reason Jim Marshall is affectionately
known as the ‘Godfather of Loud’ and this set
of postage stamps is designed to celebrate his
legacy not only on rock and roll but popular
culture.
—First Postage Stamp
This series is designed to inform members of
the public that Britain was the first country to
introduce a standardized adhesive postage
stamp to represent that postage had been paid
on an item. This stamp came in the form of the
Penny Black, introduced in 1840.
FIRST!
FIRST!
FIRST!
FIRST!
FIRST!
FIRST!
—Penny Black Redesign
A selection of attempts to redesign the
original 1840 Penny Black, was the world’s
first adhesive postage stamp used in a public
postal system.
The idea of an adhesive stamp to indicate pre-
payment of postage was part of Sir Rowland
Hill’s 1837 proposals to reform the British
postal system.
The redesign is aimed to highlight Sir
Rowland Hill’s successful introduction of the
Penny Black and it countless international
incarnations ever since.
—Discovery of Penicillin
This set of postage stamps aims to
commemorate Alexander Fleming’s discovery
of Penicillin in 1928.
It is one of the earliest discovered and widely
used antibiotic agents - natural substances
that are released by bacteria into the their
environment, as a means of inhibiting other
organisms - it is chemical warfare on a
microscopic scale.
Fleming’s discovery is truly a landmark
in medical history that has put an end to
immeasurable human suffering.
A celebration of the discovery of Penicillin by Alexander Fleming in 1928
A celebration of the discovery of Penicillin by Alexander Fleming in 1928
A celebration of the discovery of Penicillin by Alexander Fleming in 1928
A celebration of the discovery of Penicillin by Alexander Fleming in 1928
A celebration of the discovery of Penicillin by Alexander Fleming in 1928
A celebration of the discovery of Penicillin by Alexander Fleming in 1928
—Theory of Evolution
Linear postage stamp series designed to
celebrate Charles Darwin’s great insight when
answering the eternal question’ Where did we
come from?’
The design itself is a reworking of the
famous Evolution of Man diagram. Here it
demonstrates the stages of evolution using
silhouettes of the species, depicting the
evolution of Ape to Queen - however I’m not
sure Her Majesty would approve of this series.
Cha
rles
Dar
win
180
9 –
1882
The
ory
of
Evo
lutio
n
Cha
rles
Dar
win
180
9 –
1882
The
ory
of
Evo
lutio
n
Cha
rles
Dar
win
180
9 –
1882
The
ory
of
Evo
lutio
n
Cha
rles
Dar
win
180
9 –
1882
The
ory
of
Evo
lutio
n
Cha
rles
Dar
win
180
9 –
1882
The
ory
of
Evo
lutio
n
Cha
rles
Dar
win
180
9 –
1882
The
ory
of
Evo
lutio
n
—Splitting the Atom
Series of stamps based on Ernest Walton &
John Cockroft’s successful splitting of the
atom in 1932.
They were the first people to split the atom in a
completely controlled manner. In doing so they
also became the first people to verify Einstein’s
law: E=mc2.
The series is designed to commemorate their
achievement and its impact on the scientific
community through the use of the familiar
atomic structure diagram.
Sp
litti
ng t
he A
tom
Ern
est
Wal
ton
and
John
Coc
krof
t (1
932)
Sp
litti
ng t
he A
tom
Ern
est
Wal
ton
and
John
Coc
krof
t (1
932)
Sp
litti
ng t
he A
tom
Ern
est
Wal
ton
and
John
Coc
krof
t (1
932)
—London Underground
This set of postage stamps is designed to
raise awareness of the fact that the London
Underground was the worlds first underground
railway.
In 1860 work began on the first attempt to
solve the problem of the capitals growing
congested streets. The Metropolitan Railway
was designed to link three of London’s main
line termini with the City.
The series carries the twelve colour
coordinated lines of the tube system in pairs
incorporating a circle to represent a station.
—Invention of Meccanno
The invention of Meccano by Frank Hornby
in 1901 was the worlds first engineering /
mechanics based toy.
A forerunner to Lego, it was the first toy that
enabled children the world over to explore their
imagination whilst learning the fundamentals
of engineering and physics. On this series the
invention is celebrated by a series of abstract
images created using Meccano pieces.
Frank Hornby 1901Invention of Meccano
Frank Hornby 1901Invention of Meccano
Frank Hornby 1901Invention of Meccano
Frank Hornby 1901Invention of Meccano
Frank Hornby 1901Invention of Meccano
Frank Hornby 1901Invention of Meccano
Ollie Saward © 2011—[email protected]