But now you can show the world how you feel when you send a postcard, letter or parcel, thanks to the award-winning stamp design of a former Harrogate College student.

Matthew Day from Knaresborough, a third-year graphic design student at University College Falmouth, has won a prestigious national award for his design.

The new series of six stamps allows senders to tell their friends and family about their first kiss, best fancy dress themes, worst excuses and most annoying habits.

Every stamp has 12 perforated tabs, each bearing a different word. All users have to do is tear of the descriptions that do not apply to them and then attach what is left of the stamp to the top of the envelope as normal.

So you might want to describe your first kiss as awkward, sloppy and frightening, in which case you would remove the other nine tabs, creating your individual barcode-style stamp.

In this same way, you could tell your penfriend your favourite toast toppings were jam, marmite, cheese, peanut butter and mushrooms or that you prefer dressing up as pirates, policemen, filmstars and cowboys at parties.

Matthew has won a four-week internship at Pentagram worth £850 from the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce and the awkward will give him the chance to work with Pentagram to research and develop his interest in design.

More than 1,100 students entered this year's competition and join the list of previous winners which includes iPod designer Jonathan Ive and fashion designer Betty Jackson.