STAMP IT

Before starting any of my research into ways to 'optimise energy and reduce waste', I wanted to get a bit of background information on the Royal Mail themselves. By looking at their history and the type of design they're currently using, I will be able to grasp a good idea of what they're all about and also form a starting point to the brief.

When looking for a bit of RM imagery, I came across this piece of identity design by Mark Bloom, the creative director of Mash Creative, who has modernised the overall aesthetics of the mailing system. This re-think of the logo and image was commissioned by Icon magazine as part of an ongoing feature. 

Overall, a beautifully clean re-branding of a piece of our history. A great example of how simplifying something can sometimes improve it. 

'To move forward, sometimes you need to look to the past. Brand identities seem to have a habit of becoming too complicated over the years. We wanted to take the Royal Mail logo back to basics whilst still retaining key elements of the original logo.

The current Royal Mail logo looks somewhat outdated now, our aim was to design a modern classic that would remain timeless and fresh for years to come.

In our opinion some of the most successful rebrands utilise what is already there — for us this meant stripping away anything that complicated the logo or was deemed to be unnecessary, very much a less is more style approach. The key elements of our rethink include a redrawn and simplified crown, updated logotype, removal of the rectangular holding devices and a softer colour palette. The overall layout and proportions of the crown and type remain pretty much the same.'

(source)

A lot of what they did was all about simplifying things. The crown, which is based on St Edward's crown, was believed to be quite inaccurate within earlier Royal Mail designs.

(wiki)

 Mash Creative's idea therefore was to strip it down to a point where it was clean, smoother and scaled down, yet still an accurate representation, not losing that 'regal' feel.

When it came to the logotype, Mash Creative designed a brand new one titled 'RM Regular' - 'we designed our own font called RM Regular, this is a simple, clean and legible sans serif type that complements the crown marque.'

'The decision to use one prominent colour instead of several was a fairly easy one. Influenced by the colour scheme adopted by the GPO (General Post Office) around the second world war we finally decided upon a colour palette of faded red and parchment. The new simplified colour scheme looks soft, modern and distinctive.'