Postage stamp design Postage stamp design Postage stamp design is the activity of graphic design as applied to postage stamps. Many thousands of designs have been created since a profile bust of Queen Victoria was adopted for the Penny Black in 1840; some designs have been considered very successful, others less so. A stamp design includes several elements required for it to accomplish its purpose satisfactorily. Most important is the denomination indicating its monetary value, while international agreements require a country name on almost all types of stamps. A graphic design is very nearly universal; in addition to making counterfeits harder to produce
First stamp of the Russian Empire green, blue, black, and carmine. However, these stamps were eventually not approved. A new design of the first Russian postage stamp, of rectangular shape, was created by an ESSP's senior engraver Franz (Feodor) Kepler who submitted it for consideration on 21 October 1856. Preparing his stamp sketch, Kepler carefully examined all materials brought by Charukovsky from abroad including the original designs and samples of stamps of different countries. As a prototype for creating the Russian postage stamp, Kepler took a printer's sample stamp made by a Prague firm & Sons that was proposed for the Austrian stamps of rectangular shape.