Mat i Sverige stamps series

A series of six stamps issued by PostNord, the Swedish Postal Service in March 2016, with “mat i Sverige” (food in Sweden) as a theme. The typography is by Gustav Mårtensson, who has been a designer for the stamps of the Swedish Post Office for many years. As previously shown on Fonts In Use, Mårtenson has a soft spot for using type by Letters from Sweden, and this series is no exception. This time, the stamps show Trim, a sturdy sans with flat sides in all characters. Shortly after this series of stamps, the foundry added another flat sided sans to their collection: Mikro.

The (custom?) typeface used for small print with information is yet unidentified. It shows (semi)serifs on characters like P and L, and a distinct N with a diagonal that lands halfway the letter’s second vertical.

The illustrations are the star of the show, and were made by Veronica Ballart Lilja. Each stamp depicts various types of food that can be enjoyed in Sweden. Most stamps depict traditional food – just not traditional Swedish foods. There is pasta from Italy, Japanese sushi, there are Mexican tacos, and burgers form the US; shish kebab from the middle east and a selection of Nordic food: herring, potatoes, crisp bread, cheese, chives and egg.