Studio A

The “Go for Broke: Japanese American Soldiers of WWII” stamp we designed was issued last week by the USPS. The image is based on a photo from 1944 of a member if the 442nd Regimental Combat Team taken in France. Although many Japanese-Americans faced discrimination in the US, including being confined to domestic concentration camps, 33,000 others served in the army. The 442nd was one of the most distinguished American fighting units of WWII. Their heroism is notable.

We were honored to design this important stamp, and touched by all the notes and messages from members of the Japanese-American community telling us how much this recognition means.

Last week, the National Museum of Women in the Arts opened an exhibition of art by Sonya Clark. It’s the first survey show in Clark’s 25-year career, and features mixed-media works that address race and visibility, explore Blackness, and redress history. Studio A had the honor of designing the exhibition catalogue, and we look forward to seeing the art in person soon. Moving and meaningful, “Sonya Clark: Tatter, Bristle, and Mend” is on exhibit until May 31.

People seem to be particularly grateful receiving a personal letter in the mail these days. In turn, stamps seem to be gaining new attention from the design community. This month, Communication Arts magazine published an article on the US stamp program including some nice quotes from Antonio Alcalá and former employee Ricky Altizer. Maybe it will inspire you to send a postcard or note to a friend. We know where you can get some cool stamps! Read the article here.

Today Print magazine published a brief article/interview with Bill Gicker, Manager of Stamp Development at USPS. It may be more than you want to know about how postage stamps come to be…but then again, maybe not! We hope you enjoy the read. Read the interview here.

The second stamp in the USPS’ Lunar New Year stamp series was issued today: The Year of the Ox. The stamp was art directed by Antonio Alcalá and features a mask created by the artist Camille Chew. Available now from the USPS store.

We just completed the Textile Museum Journal, Issue 47. Several articles include scientific diagrams and charts recording important data from scholarly research. But what made this issue particularly challenging was ensuring its successful transition into an Accessible PDF (meaning it is accessible to people with disabilities including low-vision and sight-impaired users). We look forward to helping more of our clients make sure their publications can be easily accessed by all!

Hooray! Our “Holiday Delights” stamps came in the mail today. This was a wonderful, easy, and fun collaboration with the talented and gracious illustrator Kirsten Ulve. We’ll be using these on our holiday cards this year. Will you?

For our blog friends interested in our stamp designs, we recently started posting some of them on the Instagram account: @antoniostudioa. We also post examples of other interesting stamps and “cinderellas” or poster stamps worth seeing (we think). Check it out, and follow us to see more

First, thank you to everyone who is supporting the USPS (especially those buying stamps)!

Last week, our latest stamp designs were issued celebrating American Innovation. Photographs representing Computing, Biomedicine, Genome Sequencing, Robotics, and Solar Technology are featured with a typographic composition spelling “Innovation” stamped in silver foil on top. They’re perfect to use when mailing in your next patent application!

The USPS seems to be front-page news these days. Mostly, the headlines are for reasons other than their stamp designs. Leave it to Steven Heller and Print Magazine to shine a little light on our work today:https://www.printmag.com/post/a-graphic-designer-s-stamp-collection?fbclid=IwAR39Rrfc5W_z8emIoJlADi5JttZqhXocPSVXDA6_4P1FBXLiaffcbexaHfk. Thank you!

Milton Glaser, June 26,1929—June 26, 2020

Print Magazine, and Steven Heller, did a little Q&A with Antonio Alcala about the soon-to-be-issued Hip Hop stamps. So proud of US Postal Service for issuing these. Check it out: https://www.printmag.com/post/hip-hop-forever-first-class

The photographer Cade Martin reached out to many of the creative people he’s worked with over the years to find out how they’re doing during this pandemic-clouded time. Antonio was one of his featured profiles, and you can check it out here. We hope you are safe and well!

Many months ago, Antonio Alcala was honored to serve as a judge for Print Magazine’s 2019 Regional Design Annual. Unfortunately, just after the judging was completed the company that owned Print went bankrupt and winners went unrecognized. But new owners have come to the rescue and just announced the winners! Congratulations to all the designers and their colleagues creating this inspiring work.

Use this link below to learn a little about the judges and see the winning designs.

Wednesday is the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day, when millions of people collectively called for better treatment of our planet. Today, USPS issued an Earth Day stamp we designed to commemorate this milestone. The need to work together to help preserve and improve our environment is greater than ever. Celebrate on April 22nd by doing something to help. Plant a tree. Reuse/Recycle. Write a letter to an elected official or business leader to let them know what they can do to help. And have a Happy Earth Day!