Postage stamp design, graphics and national identity

Postage stamp design is a pertinent macro measurement of a nations commitment to graphic design and to the image is presents to the outside world. British Royal Mail Post Office stamps have always communicated important national issues with intelligent concepts, powerful graphics and they are a vehicle for the promotion of Britain's designers.
A few recent collections include the interlocking 'Evolution' stamps, the brilliant 'Fruit & Veg' designs complete with stickers to personalise the faces of your stamps and create your own Fruit & Veg characters and the beautifully illustrated 'Beijing - London Olympics', the contemporary architectural and Rock and Roll collections.
Having once been commissioned to design a set of 'Landscapes at Risk' stamps, I know how demanding and exigent the Post Office is in its design selection process. Hence the outstanding designs that find themselves on the UK mail.