On Tuesday, April 7, Posti will issue stamps to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the beloved graphic designer Erik Bruun. Erik Bruun is a master of purposeful graphics, known not only from posters and banknotes but also as a productive designer of stamps.
Erik Bruun designed his first stamps in the mid-1980s, around the same time as he was working on the Finnish Markka banknote reform. Within more than 30 years, Bruun has designed approximately 100 different stamps.
Bruun has been familiar with the proportions required for stamps for many years: “A good street poster must also work matchbox-sized. When the matchbox is viewed from an arm’s length, the viewing angle is roughly the same as when glancing at at a street poster from a car window. The viewer should be able to understand the idea within seconds. The same formula applies to designing stamps.”
”Stamps, posters, banknotes and even Jaffa advertisements are part of people’s daily lives. This has delighted the designer of purposeful graphics year after year,” says Bruun.
Five works from Erik Bruun’s career
The stamp sheet features five works from Erik Bruun’s career. The stamps feature the Crayfish Season poster which promoted Finnish tourism (1958), Jaffa’s colorful outdoor advertising poster (1959), the iconic Saimaa Ringed Seal poster (1974), the Mushrooms in August poster from the Forest Finland series (1996) and the self-published Pine Cone poster (2005).
”I have followed Erik’s career for a long time and he has definitely been one of my inspirations in becoming a graphic designer. His talent and precision are in a league of their own. In addition, Erik’s attitude towards life is always positive, which many people could learn from,” says Ilkka Kärkkäinen, who was responsible for the graphic design of the stamps.
Nature and birds as the source of inspiration
Nature has been a great source of inspiration throughout Erik Bruun’s career and he has produced numerous nature-themed works ever since the 1960s. His Saimaa Ringed Seal poster has become the symbol of nature conservation in Finland.
Bruun has illustrated several dozen bird motifs for stamps, which were inspired by his childhood in Karelia.
”The migration routes of millions of birds crossed the Karelian Isthmus in the spring and autumn. My father also often took us to Lake Äyräpäänjärvi, where many rare birds nested. It’s enchanting to watch birds.”
The sketches of Erik Bruun’s bird-themed stamps are on display at the Postal Museum (Museum Centre Vapriikki, Alaverstaanraitti 5, Tampere). The exhibition is open until August 16.
A partner with many ideas
Tommi Kantola, Design Manager at Posti, has produced numerous stamps together with Erik Bruun.
”As a creative person, Erik has had many ideas for designing stamps. He also has an excellent ability to focus on what is essential in his illustrations,” says Kantola.
”It has been a great honor to work with Erik for over 20 years. He has often invited me to his home in Suomenlinna to take a look at his sketches. Erik’s office was full of history and he was happy to show me his other works from over the years as well. These visits were always the highlights of the stamp projects, and they have stayed with me.”
Erik Bruun 100 Years is a 10-stamp sheet containing five different domestic no-value indicator stamps.
First-day event at Helsinki Main Post Office on April 7, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
The first day event for the stamps will be held on Tuesday, April 7, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Helsinki Main Post Office (Elielinaukio 2 F, 00100 Helsinki).
New stamps, first day covers and other stamp products will be sold at the event, and visitors can get first day postmarks on their items. Welcome!
Photos of the Erik Bruun 100 Years stamps: https://digilibrary.emmi.fi/l/dMS_989jkKt7
All stamps available for sale are featured in Posti’s online shop: https://shop.posti.fi/en