Stamp Day 2005

Stamp design competition

From December 2004 to mid-March 2005, Swiss Post conducted a competition for the 85-centime special stamp to mark Stamp Day 2005. As Meyrin, near Geneva, is the venue for this year's "Stamp Day", the subject of this sixth edition of the competition was "Multicultural Meyrin". The public was able to vote on the Internet or by postcard and choose from eight designs submitted by artists in western Switzerland. The motif of Geneva-based graphic artist Dominique Hiestand won the most votes.

Revealing the winning design

Federal Councillor Pascal Couchepin unveiled the motif at the opening ceremony of the 19th International Book and Press Fair in Geneva on 27 April 2005. Dominique Hiestand is delighted to have won: "This was the first time I entered a national design competition - and I was the winner! ", enthuses the 48-year old graphic artist from Geneva. His communications agency produces brochures, flyers, posters and magazines in all sizes, shapes and colors. And stamps? Not stamps, the special stamp to mark "Stamp Day" was his first such attempt. "For me, stamps are wonderful miniature works of art. We use them every day, so I'm absolutely thrilled to be able to design one myself", says Dominique Hiestand.

Dominique Hiestand

Dominique Hiestand is 48 years old, and he and his wife Hélène have two children. The family lives in the Geneva municipality of Lancy. After leaving school he completed an apprenticeship as a typographer. From 1971 to 1987 he worked in the pre-print processing department of Roto-Sadag SA in Geneva, where the daily "Tribune de Genève" was produced at that time. An enthusiastic computer user, Hiestand trained as a polygraphic artist and later as a graphic artist. In 1988 Dominique Hiestand decided to set up his own business. Together with his wife he runs the Parfab SA communications agency in Geneva. His hobbles include reading and everything to do with aviation.

Multicultural Meyrin

He has a special relationship with Meyrin, the municipality near Geneva, which is the subject of the design competition. Dominique Hiestand has worked together with the municipality's culture department for several years. Whereas the other entrants focused on the fact that people from 105 countries and five continents live together in Meyrin, he chose a different approach. With his motif Hiestand shows not only the diversity of cultures but also that Meyrin encompasses the aspects of town and country. To incorporate these various forms of multiculturalism in this smallest of formats, Hiestand created his design in postcard style.

Stamps in detail

Issue: Switzerland, 22 November 2005
Print: offset by Cartor Security Printing
Stamp size: 33 x 28 mm
Stamp perforation: 13,5 x 13,75
Design: Dominique Hiestand, Geneva

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