door On 17 February 2025, PostNL will release New Dutch Design – coffee and tea, the first stamp sheet in this new series. New Dutch Design highlights the work of the future generation of Dutch graphic designers. The stamps were created during the 2023-2024 academic year by second-year Graphic Design students at ArtEZ in Zwolle, in collaboration with Nicole Uniquole. The stamps bear the denomination 1, for mail up to 20 grams sent within the Netherlands.
The New Dutch Design series, which succeeds the Typically Dutch series, revolves around the theme of ‘celebration’, expressed through colour and shape. After brainstorming, the students chose to interpret this theme by focusing on various rituals. The 17 February issue features a sheet of 6 stamps in 2 designs, with the ritual of drinking coffee and tea as its central focus. Later in 2025, other stamp sheets in the New Dutch Design series will cover rituals such as greetings (21 April), making music (11 August), and dancing (22 September). The price for a sheet of 6 stamps is €7.26.
SUBJECT
Coffee and tea are among the most consumed beverages worldwide. According to the latest research (2022), the Dutch drink an average of 33.5 million cups of coffee and 16.2 million cups of tea every day. Coffee is prepared using water and dried, roasted, and ground seeds of the coffee plant Coffea. Most species of this plant originate from tropical Africa and the islands of the Indian Ocean, with roots in Ethiopia, Yemen, and Sudan. Coffee is typically brewed by running or pressing hot water through ground beans. The earliest (Arabic) sources mentioning coffee and its beneficial effects date back to the 10th century. Coffee reached Europe in the 17th century, but its popularity only grew when milk was added, a habit borrowed from tea drinkers. Tea is made by infusing the dried and crushed leaves of the tea plant Camellia sinensis in hot water. Tea originated in China, where it has been consumed for thousands of years. The first Western mention of tea dates from 1559, in a travel report by a Persian merchant who encountered the drink during a visit to China. In the 17th century, the Dutch East India Company began shipping large quantities of tea to the Netherlands from Batavia, where it had been brought from China. By the 18th century, tea drinking had become commonplace in the Netherlands.
Source: historianet.nl, koffiethee.nl, wikipedia.nl
DESIGN
The New Dutch Design – coffee and tea stamp sheet features 6 special stamps in landscape format with 2 different designs. The 3 stamps on the left show an illustration of a kettle next to a kneeling figure holding a glass of tea with both hands. A stream of water flows from the kettle’s spout into the glass. On the 3 stamps on the right, there is an illustration of a coffee machine above a seated figure, legs drawn up, holding a coffee cup with both hands. A drop of coffee falls into the cup from the coffee outlet. The two figures on the stamps are looking at each other. The kettle and coffee machine feature measurement lines. The illustrations, composed of flat planes, use colours from the palette for the entire New Dutch Design series. The country name Nederland and the year 2025 are positioned alternately on the left and right of the stamps. The denomination 1 appears in the bottom left or bottom right corner, while the sorting hook is at the top. The title of the issue and the image of the coffee drinker are repeated on the sheet edge, where the coffee drinker sits atop the stamps. The green sheet edge features 3 rectangular blocks in the series’ colour palette. In the top left corner, there is an orange circle the same size as the yellow head of the character on the sheet edge.
TYPOGRAPHY
The typography uses two fonts. The first is Vier, designed in 2024 by Maureen Ketting especially for the New Dutch Design series in collaboration with her fellow Graphic Design students at ArtEZ, University of the Arts, Zwolle. The second font is LTR Limited Grotesque from 2024, created by type designer Erik van Blokland for LettError in The Hague.
DESIGN – SERIES
Curator Nicole Uniquole, known for organising major art and design exhibitions at historic locations, supervised the teachers and students at ArtEZ on behalf of PostNL during the design process for the New Dutch Design series. Uniquole: “We started this project with an inspirational visit to the National Archives, where the design process for almost all Dutch stamps is documented. We even went down to the archives’ basement, where original drawings by great names such as Piet Mondrian, Hendrik Werkman, and Anton Beeke were brought out. It was surprising for the students to realise that their work will one day be preserved there too. The approach to this series focuses on ensuring the stamp sheets match while giving students complete creative freedom. It’s a healthy tension. The aim is to work with a clear and straightforward visual language so the message is immediately clear. As Anton Beeke once said about posters: the design should hit you, bang, like a slap in the face. That gets your full attention. As a result, the ritual stamps have a positive and optimistic appearance, with clear shapes, earthy colours, and typography that ties everything together. This positive character aligns perfectly with sending mail, which is, at its core, about thinking of and caring for one another.”
The design of the New Dutch Design stamp series is the result of an educational project within the Graphic Design programme at ArtEZ in Zwolle. PostNL had previously collaborated with Nicole Uniquole and ArtEZ on two stamp designs: the Het compliment issue (2023) and the 250 years of King Willem I issue (2022). Marijke Meester, head of Graphic Design at ArtEZ, was closely involved in the creation of the New Dutch Design series. “This new project also fits within our policy of collaborating with external partners and giving students the freedom to experiment,” says Meester. “The New Dutch Design project was worked on by 20 second-year students, in groups with rotating compositions, under the guidance of lecturer Anje Jager. Following a brainstorming session, the students themselves linked the theme of ‘celebration’ to rituals as a unifying concept. This was subsequently used within our programme as the overarching theme for the semester. It’s a universal theme – rituals connect us and are part of what makes us human.”
DESIGN – COFFEE AND TEA
The New Dutch Design – coffee and tea stamp sheet was created by students Denzel Cahtalina, Jip van der Heijden, Mello Rakel, and Sam Oerlemans. Their fellow students Chantal Idzerda, Jolijn Bos, and Maureen Ketting were responsible for the grid (typography, etc.). Like all the other stamp designs in the New Dutch Design series, this design is the result of an educational project at ArtEZ in collaboration with curator Nicole Uniquole. The students worked on the design during the 2023-2024 academic year, in the second year of their Graphic Design programme at ArtEZ in Zwolle. All second-year students were involved in the design for this stamp series. At ArtEZ, the students were guided by Marijke Meester and Anje Jager, head and lecturer of Graphic Design, respectively.
Time for yourself
On behalf of the student team responsible for New Dutch Design – coffee and tea, Sam Oerlemans completed the final design. “Our team chose the subject ‘me time’, a moment for yourself. To explore this, we looked at various aspects, such as movement, rest, creativity, and so on. Each team member made two sketches. For ‘movement’, I drew dancing scenarios, and for ‘rest’, different coffee and tea moments. I continued with the latter. As a team, we ultimately presented four of the eight design concepts to PostNL. They chose my design about coffee and tea rituals to develop further.”
Tilted kettle
The design for New Dutch Design – coffee and tea went through several changes from the initial sketches to the final version. “It started off more abstract,” says Sam Oerlemans. “The figures were initially just lines with a small circle as a head. Also, the kettle was positioned horizontally across the stamp. We tilted it later after receiving feedback that it was unclear. Initially, the typography was placed at the bottom of the stamp. My fellow students responsible for the grid moved it to the side. That took some getting used to, but in hindsight, it was the right decision. The colour palette was also adjusted. From the available colours, we chose green as the dominant colour for the coffee and tea stamps. Research shows that green has a calming effect.”
A moment of pause
For Sam Oerlemans, drinking a cup of coffee or tea means taking a moment for oneself, a small pause. “This is true for many people. Almost everyone drinks coffee or tea, so it’s very relatable. It often happens at set times, and the process of making coffee or tea is also a ritual with repeated actions in a fixed order. That’s comforting. That’s why I depicted a drip coffee maker. Making coffee with this takes longer than, for example, using an espresso machine. Plus, the drip coffee maker has a more aesthetically pleasing shape.”
Collage style
The coffee machine and kettle on the stamps are much larger than the coffee and tea drinkers underneath. This reflects Sam Oerlemans’ illustrative style. “I enjoy playing with proportions when creating images. From the start, I knew I wanted to create a flat illustration using planes of colour. It has a collage-like feel, as if pieces of cut paper have been laid next to each other. I draw inspiration from illustrators who work in this style, such as Marc David Spengler. In class, people said it reminded them of Bart van der Leck’s work, though that wasn’t intentional. I didn’t know much about Van der Leck then – I do now.”
Tea bag
The tea drinker and coffee drinker are positioned on the two stamps so that they look at each other. “I also made versions where they were sitting back-to-back,” says Sam Oerlemans. “But that looked too unfriendly. Even though they’re each alone on their stamp – which suits the ‘me time’ theme – they still keep each other company. Both figures are depicted as gender-neutral so that everyone can identify with them. As a final detail, you can see a small tea bag hanging in the tea glass. It’s clearly visible with a magnifying glass.”
DESIGN – GRID
In a stamp series, the different issues often share common features, such as typography or the basic layout. In the design project for the New Dutch Design stamps, a separate team of students was responsible for this ‘grid’, explains Maureen Ketting, who worked on the grid team with Jolijn Bos and Chantal Idzerda. “Our task was to maintain consistency across the different stamps, for example, by determining the position of the design elements on the stamps and the sheet border. Using books from the library, we studied various examples before creating our own sketches. Each of us worked individually while the other teams worked on their stamp designs.”
Custom font
To give the series a unique character, the grid team designed a custom typeface. “We all made our own version,” says Jolijn Bos. “After consulting with the class – and with approval from the teachers and PostNL – Maureen’s font was chosen. Her design fit the brief the best. She created a 4×4 grid to literally reflect the theme of ‘celebration’ in the dimensions. The flowing letters converge, much like people coming together to celebrate something. That’s why the font is called Vier (‘Four’ in Dutch). The second font, LTR Limited Grotesque by Dutch type designer Erik van Blokland, adds a playful contrast to the block-like shapes of Maureen’s font.”
Sheet border guidelines
The country name Nederland and the year 2025 are positioned vertically on the stamps, alternating between left and right. Maureen Ketting: “This gave the teams as much space as possible for their designs without the illustration and typography clashing. Throughout the process, we shared our proposals for feedback to ensure our approach fit the design ideas of the other teams. If necessary, we adjusted our ideas or they adjusted theirs. We were also responsible for the guidelines on the sheet border, such as the placement of the title, logo, and required text. The teams were free to fill in the rest of the sheet border themselves. At the end, we considered adding a pattern to the background of the sheet border, but it looked too busy.”
Little stories
The four New Dutch Design issues this year each have their own unique look but are clearly part of the same series thanks to the grid team’s work and the shared colour palette. “The designs also share similarities,” says Jolijn Bos. “For example, each stamp sheet features a circle as a character’s head. You can view the illustrations as little stories that connect to each other. For example, about an ArtEZ student who wakes up in the morning, drinks coffee or tea, goes outside to greet friends, makes music with others in the afternoon, and dances in the evening.”
About the students
Chantal Idzerda (Putten, 2003), Denzel Cahtalina (Curaçao, 2005), Jip van der Heijden (Uden, 2002), Jolijn Bos (Oss, 2002), Maureen Ketting (Almere, 2002), Mello Rakel (Emmen, 2002), and Sam Oerlemans (Tilburg, 2000) worked on the stamp designs for New Dutch Design during the 2023-2024 academic year, in the second year of their Graphic Design programme at ArtEZ in Zwolle.
About Marijke Meester
Marijke Meester (Purmerend, 1964) has been head of Graphic Design at ArtEZ, University of the Arts in Zwolle, since 2017. In 1992, she founded Meester Ontwerpers, a design studio in Amsterdam with extensive experience in strategy, communication, and complex design challenges. The core team consists of Marijke Meester and Soejon Pet, supplemented by a flexible network of professional specialists in communication and design. Meester studied at the HBO teacher training programme in Amsterdam (drawing and handicrafts) and completed a degree in graphic design at the Utrecht School of the Arts (HKU), where she graduated cum laude.
About Nicole Uniquole
Nicole Uniquole (Amersfoort, 1968) develops groundbreaking exhibitions at historical locations, where she combines contemporary design with 17th-century art. Uniquole is known for exhibitions such as Design & Dynasty, 250 Years of Court Life Oranien Nassau in Fulda (2022), Royal Showpieces at Het Loo Palace (2014/2015), and Dutch Design – House of Orange at Oranienbaum Palace (2012). She is also the initiator and founder of Masterly – The Dutch Pavilion, which is showcased annually during the Salone del Mobile design fair in Milan. In 2021, Nicole Uniquole won the Harper’s Bazaar Audience Award as Woman of the Year for her tireless dedication to the contemporary art sector. Currently, she is the creative director at Soestdijk Palace, a role that has already led to the exhibitions Women of Soestdijk (2023) and Shining at Soestdijk (November 2024-March 2025).
SALES/VALIDITY
The New Dutch Design – coffee and tea stamps are available while stocks last from post offices in Bruna shops and via www.postnl.nl/bijzondere-postzegels. The stamps can also be ordered by phone from the Collect Club’s customer service at +31 (0)88 868 99 00. The validity period is indefinite.
VALUE
These stamps bear denomination 1, intended for mail up to 20 grams sent within the Netherlands. The price per sheet of 6 stamps is €7.26.
TECHNICAL DATA
Stamp size: 40 x 30 mm
Sheet size: 122 x 170 mm
Paper: Normal with phosphor print
Gumming: Gummed
Printing technique: Offset
Printing colours: Cyan, magenta, yellow, and black
Print run: 75,000 sheets
Appearance: Sheet of 6 stamps in 2 different designs
Design: Nicole Uniquole in collaboration with Chantal Idzerda, Denzel Cahtalina, Jip van der Heijden, Jolijn Bos, Maureen Ketting, Mello Rakel en Sam Oerlemans (students Graphic Design at ArtEZ, University of the Arts, Zwolle)
Printer: Cartor Security Printers, Meaucé La Loupe, France
Item number: 450261
SUMMARY
Issue: New Dutch Design – coffee and tea
Issue date: 17 February 2025
Appearance: Sheet of 6 special stamps in 2 different designs, with denomination 1 for mail up to 20 grams within the Netherlands
Item number: 450261
Design: Nicole Uniquole in collaboration with Chantal Idzerda, Denzel Cahtalina, Jip van der Heijden, Jolijn Bos, Maureen Ketting, Mello Rakel, and Sam Oerlemans (Graphic Design students at ArtEZ, University of the Arts, Zwolle)
COPYRIGHT
© 2025 Koninklijke PostNL BV
