Commentary: Curse of the tilted stamp
When it comes to stamps, like architecture or fashion, no design can please everyone. Stamp collectors are as opinionated when viewing a stamp as food critics are at a restaurant, and rare is the collector with no philatelic pet peeves. For some, it's when the design is too bland and lacks color; for others, it's when the design is too vibrant and colorful. The design can be too sparse or too dense, too conventional or too sophisticated, too derivative or too bold. When a new stamp is issued, collectors line up on opposing sides and either lavish it with praise or heap their scorn on it, largely in reaction to the design. Even a subject as harmless as solar energy can polarize audiences on account of how the designer chose to manifest it visually. Despite appearances to the contrary, the stamp above is not the result of a printing error. It represents a deliberate attempt on the part of the designer -- in this case, Osnat Eshel -- to require viewers to either tilt their h...