About This Stamp
The U.S. Postal Service® celebrates four of winter’s winged beauties with the Birds in Winter Forever® stamps: the black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus), the northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), the blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata), and the red-bellied woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus).
The stamp art features four striking designs that highlight the handsome plumage of these resident birds. The vivid contrast with the bright flashes of color found in the digital rendering of each bird evokes the drab feeling of winter with the stark white backgrounds. A limited palette and simplified shapes give the art a bold, fresh look.
In the dead of winter, when trees have shed their leaves and snow has blanketed the ground, the lively sights and sounds of resident birds can be a welcome relief. For serious birders or casual nature lovers alike, spotting these beautiful creatures in backyards, parks, and forests is a treat during the year’s coldest months.
Art director Antonio Alcalá designed the stamps with original artwork by Nadia Taylor.
The Birds in Winter stamps were issued as Forever® stamps in booklets of 20. These Forever stamps will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail® one-ounce price.
Stamp Art Director, Designer, and Typographer
Antonio Alcalá
Antonio Alcalá served on the Postmaster General’s Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee from 2010 until 2011, when he left to become an art director for the U.S. Postal Service's stamp development program.
He is founder and co-owner of Studio A, a design practice working with museums and arts institutions. His clients include: the National Gallery of Art, Library of Congress, National Portrait Gallery, National Museum of Women in the Arts, The Phillips Collection, and Smithsonian Institution. He also lectures at colleges including the Corcoran College of Art + Design, SVA, Pratt, and MICA.
In 2008, his work and contributions to the field of graphic design were recognized with his selection as an AIGA Fellow. He has judged international competitions for the Society of Illustrators, American Illustration, AIGA, and Graphis. Alcalá also serves on the Smithsonian National Postal Museum and Poster House Museum’s advisory councils. His designs are represented in the AIGA Design Archives, the National Postal Museum, and the Library of Congress Permanent Collection of Graphic Design.
Alcalá graduated from Yale University with a BA in history and from the Yale School of Art with an MFA in graphic design. He lives with his wife in Alexandria, Virginia.
Stamp Artist
Nadia Taylor
After graduating from the University of the West of England in Bristol with a degree in illustration, Nadia Taylor cut her teeth in the art world working for a screen-printing company. “Here I learned the whole screen-printing process and fell in love with pattern,” Taylor says. Patterns and prints have come to be an integral part of her bold and colorful style.
Using the skills and techniques she learned early on in her career, Taylor has made a name for herself as a freelance illustrator in London. She has worked on book covers, greeting cards, packaging, and large hand painted murals. Her clients have included Ikea, Lagom Design, Points Publishing, Waitrose Weekend, and Zizzi Restaurants.
When Taylor is not drawing or illustrating, she enjoys knitting. “I make things with lots of color and pattern,” Taylor says, “and it is so satisfying to watch it grow.” Her time away from work also finds her in the galleries of the Victoria and Albert Museum, drawing inspiration from its international collections of textiles and decorative arts.
Taylor lives in London with her husband and two children, Ted and Felix. Birds in Winter is her first project for the U.S. Postal Service®.