Working alongside contemporary print maker Linda Farquharson and through traditional letterpressing techniques, we helped celebrate ten of the most renowned poets from the Romantic era.
The brief was to design a collection of stamps that featured the work of the most celebrated poets from what is known as the Romantic era. For each stamp two lines from famous poems had to be represented in a basic typographic style that offered no suggestion of interpretation. The challenge was to work within this constraint yet to add visual interest that would support but not compete with the words of the poem.
To add character to the words, the type was printed letterpress on soft textured paper with extra pressure to give an exaggerated debossed impression. The proofs were then photographed with side lighting to enhance the technique. Black and white linocut illustrations provided literal support to the words, as anything conceptual would have been a distraction.
The typeface we chose was an authentic version of Caslon Old Style. Designed by English engraver William Caslon, it was popular throughout the period of the Romantic Movement.
