Lovely Earth
Stamp Design | Photography
TOOLS USED: Photoshop, InDesign
After researching type designer Gerard Unger, these ideated Lovely Earth USPS postage stamps blend photography, typography, my love for travel, nature, and handwritten letters.
Gerard Unger
Type Designer
Gerard Unger was a graphic designer and type designer from the Netherlands. He designed national postage stamps as well as signage for roads and highways and wayfinding signage for the Amsterdam metro transit system.
Gerard Unger, Photo from Eye Magazine
The Beatrix stamp series (1981–2010) by Gerard Unger, from Florian Hardwig, Flickr
Inspiration
My Experience
Some of my most vivid and cherished memories from childhood is running errands with my mom in the mornings before she went off to work 6 days a week for most of each day. One of the places we'd always make a stop at was our local post office.
I absolutely love writing, sending, and receiving letters with the help of the USPS. I don't necessarily collect stamps because I use them by sending letters to my friends so that they all have them. And I collect all the cards, stamps, and letters I receive in a binder.
Some of my favorite Forever stamps include Ansel Adams' Black and White photography and the commemorative Peanuts characters by Charles M. Schulz.
The Message Monsters layout was my inspiration for my stamps.
My Creation
Combining my photos from my solo-travels to Ecuador, Guatemala, and Colorado, I captured the mountains and the sky.
There is something so special about dusk and dawn. Times when you can't help but exude awe toward the sky, bask in its beauty and colors, and know that it has never looked exactly like this before and won't look exactly like it again.
I feel handwritten letters embody the passage and presence of time. We are always evolving and changing, each letter different from the last. These stamps capture that essence, journeying on an envelope with each letter.
Volcán cotopaxi, ecuador postage stamps
Sky Pond, colorado postage stamps
Green Lake Trail, Colorado postage stamps
Lake atitlán, Guatemala Postage Stamps
Though these stamps aren't actually valid for use, they are definitely stamps that my mom and I would love to send sweet letters to our friends and family with. And we've added it to our stamp drawer!
a photo i took of Lake atitlán in 2025; still gorgeous as ever
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