Brand Communication

Royal Mail - The Who

Helping Royal Mail celebrate the 60th anniversary of one of the UK's most influential bands.

60 years of iconic graphic ephemera - logos, sleeves, tickets, posters and photography – helped to inspire our rich and eclectic design approach.

Sector

Arts & Culture

What we did

Discovery & Definition

Audits
Consultation

Design Development

Creative concepts
Packaging design
Print design
Art direction

Delivery

Artwork

Context

If there’s a rock band that truly embraces an open minded, shape shifting and forward looking outlook to music and performance, it’s The Who. Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle and Keith Moon formed the band in 1964. Within five years, they went from performing club shows to headlining the Woodstock festival and becoming the biggest box-office draw in the world. They changed the way rock music was presented live and produced records that were often intelligent and challenging in content while pushing technological boundaries. With plans to celebrate the iconic band’s 60th anniversary, Royal Mail commissioned us to develop a design language for a comprehensive range of beautiful collectibles.

Solution

Over the years, The Who have boldly embraced different genres of music, from proto-punk to soft rock, mock opera to rock opera, and heavy rock to orchestrated rock. As a result, the band have a rich and varied design history, from the stripped back graphic urgency and raw live photography of their earliest years to the experimental, conceptual approaches to imagery, typography, collage and portraiture that followed. Our design solution celebrates this eclecticism, making use of iconic ephemera – logos, sleeves, posters, tickets and photography – from across the band’s history.

Pete Townshend

Stamp! Stamp! Stamp! It’s what I’ve done on stage all my life, sometimes in the air. At last, my stamping, and that of my buddy Roger, has been honoured properly, and will help letters, parcels and birthday cards travel through time and space, just as we have.

Solution

To support the Royal Mail-designed set of 12 stamps – 8 of which use Mike Dempsey’s classic album sleeve stamp framework – we designed a wonderfully varied range of collectible products: a First Day Cover, Hand Stamps, Prestige Stamp Book, Medal Covers and Presentation Pack. Every item is infused with The Who’s bold, innovative rock ‘n’ roll spirit.

David Gold,

Director of External Affairs and Policy Royal Mail

With their truly original sound and effortless ability to mix musical styles, The Who are rock royalty. These stamps celebrate one of the UK’s much loved and revered musical bands who have achieved global popularity for six decades.