Agency: Journey Group / United States Postal Service
Client: United States Postal Service
These 10 stamps in a pane of 20 pay tribute to heritage breeds, pre-industrial farm animals that are enjoying renewed attention for their versatility, adaptability, and unique genetic traits. Heritage breeds of livestock take us back to our agricultural roots—and show the way to a more sustainable future. From the beginning, art director and stamp designer agreed that photography would be better than illustration for the visual celebration of heritage breeds. Connecting the public directly to the animals was congruent with how heritage breeds connect communities more purposefully with their food sources. The stamp designer, who raises heritage breed livestock, was familiar with the work of a photographer, who had spent the past two years photographing and writing exclusively about rare and heritage breeds. He knew that her keen ability to bring out the best of every animal was exactly what the project needed. During the process of choosing images for the issuance the design team quickly realized that some animals looked better set against a white background while others needed a dark backdrop to really shine. The design team devised an alternating, checkerboard pattern to create a grid structure that gives shape and movement to the pane of stamps.
Additional Credits
Greg Breeding, Art Director
Zach Bryant, Designer
Aliza Eliazarov, Existing Photographs