Extremes of light and darkness

Each year, New Zealand Post issues a set of stamps on behalf of the Ross Dependency. Cam Price joined the New Zealand Post design team earlier this year, and has created this year’s Ross Dependency issue focusing on the spectacular seasonal skyscapes of the southern skies. Cam sat down to tell us a little about himself, his approach to design and his creation of a stamp issue with a difference.

What’s your background as a designer?

I graduated from Victoria University of Wellington with a Postgraduate Diploma in Interior Architecture and a Bachelor of Architectural Studies, but found myself naturally moving towards a career that centred on graphic design.

I have since found myself designing for companies that range from a small graphic and web agency to a national retail brand, a disruptive tech-based power company, and now as a designer at New Zealand Post.

What’s your approach to design and why do you enjoy it?

No matter the medium I always seek to create clean, clever designs. Ever since I can remember I have loved solving problems and seeing the process of how things come together (I always thought I’d be a builder, which is like jigsaw puzzles for adults), so it feels somewhat natural to do that for a job but in a beautiful, highly crafted way. On top of looking at the details of a project I always try to apply a holistic approach to my way of working, not getting too wrapped up in the specific project I’m engaged in but approaching from a wider audience view.

I think another key part of my design approach is taking inspiration from everywhere, regardless of whether it’s design related. A lecturer who played a big role in my development at university always encouraged us to take inspiration from everywhere. We’d end up taking apart mechanical objects from computers or musical instruments, playing with their scale and seeing how they could be used as occupiable space. It encouraged us to not think of design as being one-dimensional - just because you are an architect you don’t have to be limited to architecture. I’ve held on to that through the years and try to apply it to my everyday thinking.

Seasons of Scott Base was issued on 7 October 2020. Stamps, miniature sheets, first day covers, presentation packs and Limited Editions are available now.

What makes designing stamps different from other kinds of design work?

Aside from the obvious tiny scale of the canvas (which I think is a great constraint that makes you take a completely different approach), I think the beauty of designing a set of stamps is you get to properly step into the role of a storyteller. Often designers work within a rigid framework of brand guidelines or company templates, but that all gets passed out the door with stamps.

What inspired you to design these stamps with thermochromic ink?

The brief for this issue was to explore the seasons of Scott Base and the role that the sun’s position throughout the year plays in crafting them. With a bit of research it became clear that the seasons were more about light and the lack of it than the seasons as we know them around the rest of the world. While Jonny Harrison’s photos spectacularly capture the result of this, I wanted to highlight the experience that goes with the seasons.

After throwing a few ideas around with a colleague about stamps that could morph with the seasons or a lenticular finish that would capture a light and dark scene, it became clear that a product like thermochromic ink would help to The four stamps in this set bring to life the seasonal experiences Jonny captured while staying at Scott Base. He Highlights the role that light and the lack of it play in creating the magical show that is the seasons of Scott Base. Seasons as we traditionally know them aren’t so apparent at Scott Base. Summer won’t blast you with baking temperatures and autumn doesn’t bring rust-painted leaves drifting in the wind - at Scott Base seasons are defined by long periods of a sun that never sets in summer and perpetual darkness, smeared with dancing auroras in winter, broken by transitional seasons that bring glowing twilight hues throughout the day.

If you had the chance to visit Scott Base, who would you take and what would you do?

This is a bit selfish but I’d probably spend so much time trying to photograph the landscapes that I don’t think anyone would want to hang out with me down there. So maybe my partner - she’s come to understand it over the years and just does her own thing - or a photographer who could teach me a few lessons while we’re there.