You might have seen some of SIT2LRN facilitator Tim Garman’s design work without even realising it.
Tim, who has been working for SIT2LRN for the past five years, has completed his fifth set of stamp designs for NZ Post, a collection published in early March that was based on five different species of New Zealand’s kakariki parakeets.
“I designed my first set in 2007. I’d always had an interest in stamps, and being a designer I appreciate the way many postage stamp issues are designed. NZ Post has its Collectables Division in
Whanganui where I live. When they print a set of stamps, some get shipped to Whanganui where gift sets and other collectable items are assembled.”
Shortly after Tim arrived in Whanganui – from the United Kingdom in 2005 – he knocked on the door at the Collectables department and inquired about becoming a designer.
“I sent some work in to the head office in Wellington and they liked what they saw, so about two or three months later they gave me a set to design.”
Tim’s first set celebrated New Zealand innovations, and subsequent themes have included New Zealand’s underwater reefs, whales of the Southern Ocean and a set commemorating the life of beloved Kiwi author Margaret Mahy.
Each issue, which includes a range of supporting collateral, takes a couple of months to complete, with NZ Post planning six months ahead.
At the end of the year, NZ Post also publishes a book detailing that year’s issues, with profiles on the designers and writers who have been involved.
“It’s pretty cool. For a start the stamps are used nationwide, but then they can be sent all around the world. The global collectors’ market is huge with collectors all around New Zealand and the world featuring examples of my design work in their stamp albums for years to come. Also, they are still used as postage, carrying mail all around the world.”
A graphic designer by trade, Tim is able to pass on his knowledge and experience in the use of Photoshop for SIT2LRN students studying the New Zealand Diploma in Photography.
He also teaches part time in the classroom at the Universal College of Learning (UCOL) campuses in Whanganui and Palmerston North. In his own business, he specialises in brand design and illustration for a range of companies.