Forever USA Stamps: RE/imagining Hispanic RE/presentation
I crafted a proposal campaign for USPS’ new line of Forever Stamps—choosing to embed Hispanic foods and people within midcentury, traditionally white-dominated advertisements.
I created individual illustrations for each stamp, designed a stamp book, staged photographs of the stamps on envelopes, and drafted a mockup Instagram post launching the product. In the process, I was able to establish a deeper connection to my heritage within my artistic space and envision how representation for marginalized communities can be done effectively and with consideration of history and future implications.
Tools used: Procreate, Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Figma, Laser Cutting, Vinyl Printing, and Physical Print Construction
RE/IMAGINING THE PAST
I designed a USPS Forever Stamp Campaign; my campaign was centered around retrofitting midcentury domesticity with Hispanic culture and food.
Design Brief: Creating a Stamp Campaign
Create a collection of stamps that harmoniously unite American culture with a contemporary, imaginative topic that could be submitted for USPS’ Forever Stamps Design Contest. Adhere to postage procedures and scale while clearly conveying a theme.
Guiding Question:
How can I effectively portray a unification of American and Hispanic culture while tactfully appealing to USPS customers?
Personally, I was drawn to the idea of fusing Hispanic culture and representation within the blissful domesticity motif of 1950s-1960s advertisements and public displays of idyllic families and food.
STAMP GUIDELINES & BEST PRACTICES
There are size restrictions, format templates, and standard procedures for adhering to scale and composition within USPS’s submission process and stamp design in general.
Studied USPS’ Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee Website; “Criteria” Selection
Carley Law’s Consolidated Version of USPS Guidelines
KEY DESIGN IMPLICATIONS
“The Extraordinary Design Journey of a Stamp—From Quasi-Secret Society to Perforated Perfection”
🎀 Scale. Do not let the central image get lost or misinterpreted at a distance.
🎀 Perception. Aptly convey a message while embodying your view on the topic.
🎀 Audience. Make your message personalized but universal enough to be approachable by the public.
EXPLORING THE AVENUES OF POTENTIAL THEMES
I began by illustrating 5 collections of 8 stamps to get my mind acclimated to the world of stamps.
Formstorming
Rough thumbnail sketches of 5 potential themes, to begin the formstorming process that would lead me to inspiration and a larger understanding of compositional affordances
My 5 categories included:
Latina-American Confusion
Mental Health (Mind Positivity)
Fashion Eras
Rom-Coms
Childhood
I began by categorizing myself into 5 broad fascinations of mine that I felt I could powerfully convey for a larger audience.
Ultimately, I decided to continue my exploration of my culture in larger terms that would allow me to create something people outside of the culture would appreciate and purchase.
FINDING A HISPANIC VOICE IN IDYLLIC DISPLAYS OF AMERICA
My final concept was to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month by re-imagining midcentury cartoon displays of domesticity with Hispanic cultural values.
In doing so, I will be able to show USPS’ progressiveness and exemplify how a corporation can do better at displaying culture while acknowledging historical failure at cultural representation.
Why Midcentury cartoon style choice?
When I think of America, I imagine the picturesque American Dream, and with that, the midcentury era comes to mind. However, as found in my research, Hispanic people had nearly no representation as Americans during that period of time due to racism and cultural biases. This style of art encapsulates a time in which perfection meant whiteness, and I want to alter that narrative to be more inclusive.
BALANCING MESSAGE, STYLE, AND AUDIENCE
During the build process, I was focused on maintaining a strong voice while remaining tactful and effectively using the midcentury illustrative style.
🎀 I began by sketching different foods that directly remind me of Hispanic culture.
Sabritones represent the thrill of adding lemon and chamoy to the savory chips
De La Rosa marzipan reminds me of the brittled crumbs that would always happen the second you unwrapped one of these handed to you by your grandmother
The sopapillas with honey remind me of baking with my mom during the winter
Finally, the lemonade in the Mexican jug reminds me of a crisp summer day when my grandmother would batch lemonade for us sweaty kids in her favorite clay pitcher.
These are universal experiences that, though deeply personal, resonate with many other Hispanic people.
I completed sketches in a similar way for the remainder of my stamp collection.
CONVERTING PROCREATE FILES TO VECTORS
FINAL OUTCOME: STAMP BOOK
CREATING PHOTO MOCKUPS OF STAMPS
Photoshop Mockups
I imported my files into Photoshop and created 3D mockups of the printed outcome using shadows, proportions, and depth. I created these mockups to include in my Figma Instagram carousel.
Figma Instagram Carousel Mockup
I created a mockup of my Instagram carousel using the prototype feature in Figma. I wanted the design to flow from each slide and establish continuity for the campaign.
TESTING & FEEDBACK
My peers told me to:
center the alignment on the last slide
adding the banner vector to the booklet
switch the background to pattern on the one stamp (make higher contrast)
switch stamps at the last row
SOURCES
All appreciation and respect is given to these inspirational sources and references. As most of these reference images are unable to be verified, I have attached a Pinterest board that leads to my source images and original links that can be found.
LESSONS & OPPORTUNITIES
This project enhanced my sense of self within my art by helping me to embrace my heritage, something I hold dearly to me but have left relatively unexplored in my professional work.
In the future, I want to create a mockup of the USPS website with a listing for the stamp. I want to create an interaction-based UI prototype for USPS’ website and showcase my ability to include marketing practices, including SEO. I learned about the Figma mockup of Instagram posts, prototyping print construction, and reinforcing my Adobe Illustrator skills to vectorize my illustrations.
