Royal Mail – Paul McCartney
Capturing the music career of one of the most iconic and enduring music artists of all time.
Paul McCartney’s musical legacy is joyfully eclectic, varied and rich, with an accompanying graphic design history to match. Our project with Royal Mail aimed to capture and celebrate that history in all its vivid glory.
Sector
Arts & Culture
What we did
Discovery & Definition
- Audits
- Consultation
Design Development
- Creative concepts
- Brand expression
- Packaging design
- Print design
- Art direction
Delivery
- Artwork
Context
One-man cultural institution Paul McCartney needs little introduction. One of the most iconic and enduring music artists of all time, he is recognised by Guinness World Records as ‘the most successful songwriter of all time’ having written or co-written 188 charted records in the UK, of which 91 reached the top 10 and 33 reached No.1. He is the most successful albums act in UK Official Chart history and has been awarded more than 60 gold discs.
Paul McCartney remains a vital figure at the centre of rock and pop – an artist whose legacy is immense, but whose work continues to generate popular attention and critical acclaim. This dedicated stamp issue is a fitting tribute to one of the UK’s much loved and revered musical icons.
Solution
Royal Mail has honoured this music giant with a set of 12 Special Stamps to celebrate his remarkable solo career. Our task was to create a design identity to apply across the special issue philatelic product range. Delving into more than fifty years of archived imagery and ephemera, we elected to make the iconic Magic Piano a central element of our design language. Based on the 1965 hand-painted original by Dudley Edwards, we carefully digitally redrew this classic piece of psychedelic art.
Paul McCartney’s immense legacy to be celebrated with new Royal Mail stamp collection.
Impact
Our work on this wonderful project included the design of the special issue presentation pack, album folder, character sheets, medals and medal covers, first day cover, prestige stamp book and the all-important hand stamps. The work received an official seal of approval from Macca fans across the globe, who snapped up the collectibles in record time.
Special Thanks
Thank you to the Royal Mail design team for inviting us to design such an abundance of special issue products, opening our eyes to the ever evolving masterclass that is Paul McCartneys on-going, chart-topping career.
