Posti Finland celebrates the centenary of graphic designer Erik Bruun with a commemorative stamp issue.
Erik Bruun designed his first stamps in the mid-1980s. Over nearly 30 years, he created around 100 different stamps.
Bruun was well acquainted with the proportions required for stamp design: “A good poster must also work in matchbox format. When you look at a matchbox at arm’s length, the viewing angle is roughly the same as when you catch a glimpse of a poster through a car window. The viewer should be able to grasp the idea within a few seconds. The same principle applies when designing stamps.”
The stamps feature five works by Erik Bruun. The designs include the poster Crayfish Season which promoted Finnish tourism (1958), the vibrant outdoor advertisement for Jaffa (1959), the iconic poster featuring a Saimaa ringed seal (1974), the poster Mushrooms in August from the Forests of Finland series (1996), and the self-published poster Pine Cone(2005).
Nature was a major source of inspiration throughout Erik Bruun’s career. From the 1960s onwards, he created many nature-themed designs. His poster featuring the Saimaa ringed seal has become a symbol of nature conservation in Finland.
