Andy Koh is the designer for the London 2012 Olympics stamp issue. His other works include the Athens Games 2004, Festivals in 2006, as well as Tourist Attractions - Singapore-Indonesia Joint Issue in 2009.
When I was invited to write about my stamp design story, I started to recap on how I grew my passion in stamp design.
The culture of stamp collecting was inculcated into me since young by my father who is an avid stamp collector. He buys every single issue of first day cover, presentation pack, miniature sheet and even loose sheets stamps in different nominal values. This always drew attention of others who were in the queue. If he is working on the day of the stamp issue, I will be asked to help him buy his collection.
Working in a paper recycling factory in the 80s, my dad would bring home used envelope with stamps on it. We would soak them in the water until the stamp comes off. The stamps would then be placed nicely in a row on the newspaper to air dry. This was occasionally the weekend activity for me and my brother. After the stamps dried, my father would separate them into the same design, package them with a clear plastic sheet, and keep them in a plastic chocolate box. His collection grew as days went by, and the influence and appreciation of stamps grew within me too.
My first stamp designing opportunity came 10 years ago. The subject was "World Stamp Championship 2004" with 3 themes - "Trade and Industry", "Communication and Technology" and "Leisure and Lifestyle". This series of stamp was to launch over a period of three years - one theme for each year.
Since then, Singapore Post has been offering me opportunities to continue working with them in the design of more stamps like Commemorate the opening of Esplanade stamps in 2002, Festival Stamps in 2006, Commemorative stamps for 28th Olympic Games, Athens in 2004 and Tourist Attraction - Singapore and Indonesia Joint Issue in 2009.
Through the different stages of submission, I understand the whole process of stamp production - from preparing final artworks for the datestamp and first day cover to a specially designed miniature sheet.
I am happy to be appointed to design the Olympic Games - London 2012 as it is my second time doing Olympic stamps. I started doing my research, covering the past Olympic stamp designs from the world as well as the current London Olympic branding programmes. I browsed through the Olympic sport photos and the sport symbols used in past Olympic Games.
Various design directions were deployed and after a few rounds of amendments from the Stamp Advisory Committee, I arrived on the final Olympic stamp design using the current Olympic mascot - Wenlock as the main subject. Was really fortunate that the proposals were approved by IOC too! These combinations will give the stamps a fresh look with design consistency, especially it depicted sports that Singapore is focusing on to achieve results. The strong pink and silver coloured lines used are to symbolise energy and speed. This will be one of the stamps that my father will be proud to collect.
I hope my story will inspire the readers to pay more attention on the design details such as the elements around the stamp like the Merlion head, fonts used or even the size of the stamp. Stamps are good education materials as each issue of stamp tells a different story - a special event, animal species, sports, new and old landmarks, traditional cultures and many more.
