The typeface and location for the word “Canada” on all Canadian stamps are decided as a “joint effort,” says Canada Post Stamp Design Manager Susan Gilson.
Prospective designers submit “a lot of proposals” with varying iterations of the word Canada, Gilson says, adding her preference is for all uppercase letters – “CANADA” – but it can also be written in sentence case or with different typefaces.
“Different fonts may be appropriate to the issue, but sometimes if there are issues with legibility, we might be hesitant,” adds Gilson.
“A stamp is such a small piece of artwork, but you’ll be surprised when you consider there’s not that much typography – there’s ‘CANADA,’ a ‘P’ symbol and a value – but some people really struggle with it. It’s difficult work, but there are other people who can master it, so there’s a lot of back and forth with these items.”