New stamp series celebrates Dutch Design and rituals

Starting in 2025, New Dutch Design, the successor to Typisch Nederlands, will be released. The first series, designed by ArtEZ students, celebrates the ritual of coffee and tea. Clean forms, subtle colors, and gender-neutral figures emphasize tranquility and connection. Later, issues regarding greetings, music, and dance will follow. New stamp series: tradition in a modern guise From 2025 onwards, we will be treated to the 'New Dutch Design' issue annually, as a successor to the 'Typisch Nederlands' series. A brief explanation of this series: * The designation 'new' primarily refers to the progressive design of the stamps, showcasing the super-contemporary nature of Dutch Design. * The designation 'coffee and tea as a ritual' for this issue refers to brewing coffee and tea *and* to drinking coffee and tea as a comprehensive term for both rituals. * The essence of the proverb 'old wine in new bottles' is reflected in the issue. Coffee and tea culture has existed in our country for several centuries. The design is innovative and ultra-modern, executed by Graphic Design students at ArtEZ, University of Arts in Zwolle. Issue details: Graphic Design design at ArtEZ, University of Arts, Zwolle with 7 students under the supervision of Nicole Uniquole, issue date 17 February 2025, sheet of 6 stamps with 2 different images, edition 75.000 sheets, printer Carter Security Printers, Meaucé La Loupe, France. Tea drinker / tea maker Next to a kettle sits a kneeling person holding a teacup in their hands. A stream of water flows into the glass from the spout of the kettle. Markings on a transparent section of the kettle indicate the water level. A unique feature is the mini teabag, barely visible in the teacup. Coffee drinker / coffee maker A person is sitting under the coffee maker with their legs drawn up, holding a coffee cup in their hands. Coffee is dripping into the cup from the water spout. There are markings for the water reservoir on the coffee maker. Calm & clarity The angular forms, some with curves, combined with rectangular planes in the background exude clarity and tranquility. This tranquility aptly accentuates the moment of coffee and tea break. During the lunch break, you take time for yourself. The design team uses the term 'Me time' for this. Both figures aptly radiate tranquility through their inactive body posture—kneeling and sitting with extended legs. Personal view It is impossible to determine whether the coffee and tea-drinking figures in the flat, two-dimensional images are male or female. The design team states that they have been depicted in a gender-neutral manner. The figures on the three horizontally connected pairs of stamps are facing each other. In this way, the coffee and tea-drinking ceremony is strikingly enriched with conviviality and hospitality. The attractiveness described above does not take place simultaneously. The ritual features fixed times, with coffee drinking in the morning and tea drinking in the afternoon, involving recurring actions in a fixed sequence. Making coffee and tea & drinking coffee and tea Making coffee and tea with the coffee maker and kettle are presented as the dominant first actions of the coffee and tea-making ritual. Those of the resting and enjoying coffee and tea drinker occupy a modest, subordinate place. Building block letters The sleek, angular images of the device and tube are supported by similar support provided by blocky letterforms with a 4 x 4 grid. The flat letters of the country name fit into a square, except for the protruding strokes of 'd' and 'l'. The letters bear a strong resemblance to one another due to the flowing and lively curve structure. The letterforms converge like people when there is something to celebrate. English text The 'New Dutch Design' issue, consisting this year of four issues of 6 stamps with 2 different versions, is the successor to the 'Typisch Nederlands' issue. This replacement will perform better abroad in terms of sales than its predecessor. However, with this, Dutch identity, along with its own rituals, disappears within a united Europe. If, for example, you are invited for coffee in Germany, guests are expected not in the morning, but in the afternoon! Color repetition in stamp sheets Five colors were used for the stamp sheet: light green, light blue (cyan), purple (magenta), orange, and black. The same color palette will also be used on the three subsequent stamp sheets. Applying this color unity to all four stamp sheets creates a sense of calm that aptly reinforces the periods of rest associated with drinking coffee and tea. Three more stamp sheets will be released in the New Dutch Design series: * April 21: greetings as a ritual. * August 11: making music as a ritual. * September 22: dancing as a ritual.