Inauguration stamps for Willem-Alexander, King of the Netherlands
“PostNL requested a typographic solution for this rather unique stamp. This put us in a dilemma. At that time, it was not yet known which name the heir would choose: Willem IV, Willem-Alexander or maybe something different. Further, no one knew the date on which the throne change would happen. We put our money on Willem-Alexander, but had an alternative up our sleeve, in case another name had been announced. The double name offered the opportunity to work with a monogram.”
[The design features] a special effect that “only becomes visible when the stamps are placed next to each other […] Irregardless of the sequence, the monogram runs seamlessly from one stamp to the other.”
For the type, two fonts by Dutch designers have been chosen: Quadraat Sans (1997) by Fred Smeijers for the text and Albertina Regular (1965) by Chris Brand for the monogram. “Quadraat Sans is an idiosyncratic sans-serif. We combined it with the classic serif typeface by Chris Brand. The lettershapes of Albertina are suggestive of the Dutch flag.” — pietgerardsontwerpers.nl
