Crisis Averted

USPS Forever® Stamp collection concept that remembers the Cuban Missile Crisis.

CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT / CREATIVE DIRECTION

CONCEPT

USPS FOREVER® STAMP COLLECTION

RESEARCH & IDEATION
STAMP DESIGN
PACKAGING DESIGN

Crisis Averted is a concept for a U.S. history edition of USPS Forever® Stamps that revisit the Cuban Missile Crisis. Each stamp references the flag and history of each of the three countries involved in the conflict.

Cuba

The Cuba stamp design is inspired by the Cuban flag and the missiles the nation aimed at the United States in 1962. The height of the stripes and missiles symbolize the mounting tensions during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

stamp

CUBA STAMP

The color and sharpness of the triangle on the Cuban flag were used to convey danger and aggression in the stamp, depicting a first-of-its kind military escalation with the United States.

flag

CUBA FLAG

A medium range ballistic missile site in Sagua La Grande, Cuba, pictured 200 miles off the coast of Miami. Cuba had a missile range capacity to strike Washington D.C., Texas, and a great extent of the eastern United States.

history

MISSILE SITE IN CUBA (1962)

Ussr

The USSR stamp design is inspired by the USSR flag and the submarine that narrowly prevented a nuclear war. The stamp is composed of names, dates, and buzz words from news headlines during the crisis.

stamp

USSR STAMP

The “Red Scare” is derived from the color of the USSR flag. The stamp makes a reference to this term by overlaying fearful language on a dominant red background, a color historically synonymous to communism and the USSR.

flag

USSR FLAG

USSR submarine B-59 officers, isolated from contact with Moscow and the rest of the world, believed they were being attacked and debated launching nuclear torpedos at United States warships—but ultimately did not.

history

USSR SUBMARINE B-59 (1962)

usa

The USA stamp is inspired by the USA’s flag and the blockade the nation imposed on Cuba in 1962. The design depicts confrontation through military force, with 13 stars in the sky symbolizing the 13-day standoff.

stamp

USA STAMP

The stars of the USA’s flag were used literally in the sky as a way to represent the duration of the crisis, while the flag’s stripes were reimagined to depict the paths of the many warships in the water.

flag

USA FLAG

United States naval squadron off the coast of Cuba in October of 1962. President John F. Kennedy ordered the blockade seven days after discovering the presence of USSR missiles on the island nation via spy plane.

history

USA NAVAL BLOCKADE OF CUBA (1962)

packaging

The packaging’s height is meant to be suggestive of a missile and the high tensions of the crisis. The back side shows a simplified timeline of key events that lead to the near-catastrophic confrontation.