Postmarks based on traditional Russian embroidery for Ornamika

The goal of this project was to make a contemporary interpretation of a traditional Russian ornament from Ornamika’s database that would reference the original on multiple levels but present it in a fresh and modern way. The design was also meant to represent the region where the original ornament was found.

My interpretation is a set of postage stamps representing the Arkhangelsk region made from characters and ornamental elements of the 19th-century embroidery piece that was my original image. Due to the geographical nature of stamps, it seemed like the most fitting format for representing a region and because of my chosen deconstruction approach, the individual characters form a set of minimalistic icons that could be potentially used for branding or other purposes, still clearly representing the culture of the Russian North.