About This Stamp
The marvelous, mechanical Star Wars™ droids have entertained and amazed for more than four decades. In 2021, the U.S. Postal Service — inspired by a galaxy far, far away — celebrated these wondrous creations with a pane of 20 stamps featuring 10 favorite droids.
Grouped in four rows of five, the stamps vary in height to best suit the proportions of each droid. Individual characters are set against soft-focus backgrounds that evoke settings of memorable adventures.
On the first and third rows are: IG-11, a dangerous bounty hunter turned protective guardian; R2-D2, a brave and gifted “astromech” (mechanic–navigator), who, partnered with C-3PO, routinely saves the galaxy; the towering K-2SO, a glitchy, cynical, semi-obedient droid reprogrammed to assist the rebels; D-O, a tiny character who emulates BB-8, who rescued the excitable droid from longtime neglect; and L3-37, an outspoken combination astromech–protocol droid.
The second and fourth rows feature: spherical BB-8, a brilliant, childlike astromech and a fan favorite; C-3PO, a worry-prone protocol droid — a diplomat conversant in millions of languages; a Gonk droid, a vital walking battery working to provide power to the highly mechanized galaxy; a 2-1B-series medical droid, which tends to the galaxy’s diverse “biologicals”; and Chopper (C1-10P), a grumpy old droid and an essential crewmember of the Ghost, a rebel starship.
Moviegoers were first immersed in the Star Wars™ galaxy in 1977. The first film’s opening moments recount the misadventures of droids R2-D2 and C-3PO — stranded on the desert planet Tatooine. Ever since, “Artoo,” “Threepio,” and numerous other Star Wars mechanicals have been key to many thrilling adventures.
No other film fiction had ever portrayed artificial intelligence so developed and varied. Aside from the awe-inspiring designs of the droids, much of their appeal derives from their relatability as characters. Droids often exhibit free will, emotion, and funny, quirky personalities — by-products of accumulated exploits and cobbled-together programming.
Greg Breeding was the designer of the stamps and pane, and William Gicker was art director.
The Star Wars™ Droids stamps are issued as Forever® stamps. These Forever stamps are always equal to the current First-Class Mail® one-ounce price.
Star Wars elements: © & ™ Lucasfilm Ltd.
Stamp Art Director
William Gicker
William Gicker served as Director of Stamp Services for the U.S. Postal Service from 2020 until his retirement in 2023. In that position he oversaw stamp development, stamp products and exhibitions, stamp manufacturing, stamp fulfillment, and the Postmaster General’s Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee (CSAC).
Gicker began working for the U.S. Postal Service in 1998. Initially assistant editor of USA Philatelic, the quarterly stamp catalog produced by Stamp Services, he soon became editor where he oversaw the catalog’s award-winning program until 2013.
Named creative director of stamps in 2001, Gicker became manager and creative director of Stamp Development in 2015. Working closely with Postal Service art directors and CSAC, he managed the creative development and quality control of more than 800 stamp issuances and 1,700 individual stamp designs.
He has served as art director for some of the most popular stamps issued by the Postal Service: the five-year Art of Disney series; Star Wars; Holy Family; Harry Potter; and Hot Wheels. As both art director and designer, Gicker lists among his many stamps, Holiday Baubles; the first international rate Global stamp in 2013; and the Gifts of Friendship joint issuance with Japan. He was also art director for the first stamp to celebrate Diwali, eight more Global Forever® stamps, and several Christmas Madonna and Child issuances, the most recent in 2024.
A native of Pennsylvania, Gicker graduated from West Chester University with a bachelor of arts degree in English Literature. He and his family live in Washington, DC.
Stamp Designer
Greg Breeding
Greg Breeding is a graphic designer and principal of Journey Group, a design company he co-founded in 1992, located in Charlottesville, Virginia. He was creative director until 2013, at which time he began serving as president and continued in that role through 2023.
Breeding’s fascination with modernism began while studying design at Virginia Commonwealth University. His affinity with the movement continues and motivates his ongoing advanced studies at the Basel School of Design in Switzerland most every summer.
As an art director for postage stamp design since 2012, Breeding has designed more than 100 stamps covering a diverse array of subjects, from Star Wars droids and Batman to Harlem Renaissance writers and the transcontinental railroad.
His work has been recognized in annual design competitions held by Graphis, AIGA, PRINT magazine, and Communication Arts.
Breeding lives in North Garden, Virginia, with his wife and enjoys nothing so much as frolicking on the floor with his grandchildren.