In 2023 I had the amazing opportunity to illustrate this special postal stamp collection to "Correios" (Brazillian Postal Office). This series had a total of 8 postage stamps of Brazilian lighthouses, each one portraying an image of the referred monument and the surrounding region around them.
The basic process for the development of this series was to do an image research about the lighthouses, but most importantly, a journalistic research, trying to dive into the world that surrounded each place, so that each stamp could reflect the stories and people that live in these regions. I also did a research on how lighthouses were represented on stamps from different historical periods. To complement this research I was also looking to inspiration on travel posters from the early 20th century, what helped me to define the general visual language for this project.
The next step was to decide which layout would be the best alternative to fit the 8 stamps. Since there is a great variation in composition, and also I variety of visual information on each image, I decided to use a cleaner layout, with a very subtle application of the typography.
Finally, the images were sketched and painted in Photoshop. The basic painting process for this series was to do a monochromatic version of each one, and add colors slowly, through color adjustment layers on PS. In general, the first tones used were a warm or neutral earth tone, over which I would add more intense blues and yellows later on the process.
Final Images - Lighthouses at Bailique (AP), Ilha Rasa(RJ), Santa Marta(SC) and Abrolhos (BA)
Final Images - Lighthouses at Chuí (RS), Calcanhar (RN), Moela(SP), Orange(AP)
Final Sheet of Stamps
Prizes and Special Collections
This collection won the award from FILABRAS, the Association of Brazilian Philatelists, which chose the "Faróis Brasileiros" issue as the "Most Beautiful Stamp of 2023".
This series was also part of a collection from Correios, that won a prize from the Universal Postal Union in 2024. The "Brazilian Lighthouses" were presented with a collection of 25 stamps issued between 2020 and 2023. This collection received 1st place in the 18th Philately Class Competition, an annual event organized by the Universal Postal Union, the UPU, and the International Philately Federation.
It's really cool to see the relevance that stamps still have, even after so much time. I think it's still a very beautiful way of recording a territory, travels, a historical time. It greatly enriches our graphic memory, and also shows the ways in which we visually recognize ourselves as a territory, country, etc.
Thanks!!