I have to be honest, I'm not usually a very "news" kind of person. I only read about the things that interests me. To be more specifically, most of them are either design or food related.
Recently, one of the most discussed topics in Taiwan caught my eye. It is the debate about a recent stamp design for the Taiwanese upcoming presidential inauguration. The design was created by the same design team who has done the election campaign, Aaron Nieh Workshop. Personally, I've never been a huge fan of their works. However, as a designer myself, I do respect what they do, therefore, most of the time, I just keep the thoughts to myself. However, this time, there's just an urge (still not sure why) that I wish to just put my thoughts out there.
Before I go deeper, firstly, I'd just like to clarify that I am not a stamp expert, all of the comments below are based on my personal interest and years of professional experiences in visual design.
Without further ado, let's take a look at the designs (let it speaks for itself? :P )
So, what do you think?
Let's hear from the designer first. According to Nieh's Facebook, the concept of the stamp sets are as below:
The stamps feature either pixelated faces or simple line drawings of the president and the vice president. The fresh modern aesthetic captures the down-to-earth spirit of a new generation of leaders.
Under the conception of “standing with the people,” the souvenir sheet places the president and the vice president amid icons representing people of all backgrounds and walks of life. These icons make references to a variety of occupations, genders, social roles, and ethnic groups, drawing attention to issues of equality.
In comparison, here are some of the ones from previous years:
One of the major differences is that the National Flag was removed from the design. The explanation for it was because 'the pixelated effect will distort the flag image itself'. I'm not so convinced by the reason– how do you think? Why not add in some reference to the colors or even a symbolic representation of Taiwan, then? I'm not saying that it should be the 'Jade Mountain' or the 'Office of the President' (btw, this is a side note, but I never realized what the English name for 總統府 is?! Seems quite weird though). Just some indication for allowing people to recognize which country the stamps are from would be good. After all, the stamps are 'well-travelled' to various countries, and being able to use it as a means to communicate to others in foreign countries, making first impressions are always important.
My point is that, there's nothing wrong about the concept of "building box" and "congregating together as individuals". However, the design is lacking hints of 'representation' of Taiwan. It was as if the stamps could be from anywhere. I appreciate the innovative thinking and seeking for changes in the current environment. However, I still do firmly believe that as designers, one cannot just design for design's sakes.
The reasons still needs to be more convincing.
P.S. In the bottom section, I've also included some of the other inspirations for similar 'geometric/pixelated' designs which I thought are nicely done in details.
***English and Mandarin content are not direct translation.***
最近鬧得沸沸揚揚的總統就職郵票,設計出自於聶永真團隊。我不否認,一直以來我對於他的設計一直不以為意,也不知道到底為何台灣人總是愛亂「造神」— 彷彿只要套上「聶永真設計」就是「包準大賣」的保證。不過,我對於他在台灣設計界所帶來的一些正向改變,正如聶在臉書上所說:Change is Good,這點他倒是做的實至名歸。撇開設計風格不說,能夠將設計不僅娛樂商業用途,更帶入公家單位,這點不是任何一位設計師所能辦到的。
第14任總統副總統就職紀念郵票的小全張突破傳統,沒有國旗也沒照片,而是採用8bit點陣圖風格設計。我不是郵票專家,所以我無法去評論跟其他的郵票設計比起來究竟如何;不過單就以平面設計的角度出發,我認為概念是好的,但是細節的執行有如兒戲,待加強。
聶永真表示,台灣經歷威權神話的年代,總統肖像成為表框符號,但新郵票創新採用數位幾何像素與簡單線條,反映出文明、文化、藝術相結合的當代性。他解釋,幾何像素的構成源於「組合」,而新郵票使用這種概念創作,剛好襯出台灣總統的生產方式:是由一個個「單元」組成的「組合」。而另外一種設計風格則採簡單線條的描繪,充分擴大自由、感性、敢變的定義。
以下整理了一些個人挺喜歡的「幾何」「線條」設計感的郵票
假如我們比擬郵票為我們的「門面大使」,而它將旅行四處各地;而外國人對於台灣的接觸建立於郵票印象,是否真的能夠代表台灣嗎?(可能這組郵票都是收藏用,也不會真的拿來寄吧。)或許扯遠了,不過讓我想起前陣子瘋狂轉傳的挪威護照設計。一樣是現代化,但是仍保有鮮明的國家印象。
先這樣告一段落,我怕講太多等等被肉搜或是寄信來罵我呀!以上單純發表個人感言 :)
Happy to chat more!