| Title | THE MISSING STAMP |
| Brand | CHILD FOCUS |
| Product/Service | BELGIAN CENTER FOR MISSING CHILDREN |
| Category |
B02. Promotional Item Design |
|
Entrant
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WUNDERMAN Antwerp, BELGIUM
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Idea Creation
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WUNDERMAN Antwerp, BELGIUM
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Production
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BPOST Brussels, BELGIUM
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Credits
| Pieter Staes |
Wunderman Antwerp |
Creative Director |
| Manuel Ostyn |
Wunderman Antwerp |
Creative Director |
| Seppe Dogge |
Wunderman Antwerp |
Account Manager |
| Sander Van de Wiele |
Wunderman Antwerp |
Account Manager |
| Sebastien Greffe |
Wunderman Antwerp |
Design Director |
| Dorien Wendelen |
Wunderman Antwerp |
Designer |
Background
As a non-profit, Child Focus, the Belgian centre for missing children, has almost no media budget and is therefore always looking for ideas that draw attention in unexpected ways. The most valuable campaigns are those that intervene in people’s lives and touch them in a personal way. In honor of their 20th birthday, we were given the chance to design a national stamp. The stamp had to embody all missing children, without losing the emotional impact of these stories.
Describe the creative idea
We started off from the central excruciating emotion that all families of missing children have to endure: the devastation of loss. We wanted to show the void in the life of these families in its most pure form. We did this by doing the opposite of what people expect on a stamp: we didn’t show a portrait. Instead we used its absence as the central design element. Effectively saying everything by showing nothing. Sending an extra message to anyone who receives a letter with this stamp.
Describe the execution
Fitting a huge message on such a small canvas required efficiency. At the same time, the theme of the topic asked for a serene solution. By using a soft paper cutout silhouette, we managed to obtain a strong but calm image. Making the silhouette gender-neutral, we were able to embody not one, but all missing children. Using white on white paper helped creating the illusion of a real gap in the envelope. That’s how working in papercraft made the message more tangible. The visual simplicity of the image, in combination with the url, adds to the clarity of the visual. At the same time the image is suggestive enough to be interpreted in a very personal way.
List the results
No research was done pertaining to results.