Lunar New Year Stamp Designed by FIT’s Kam Mak

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Happy New Year, everyone!

A creative start to this new year is a colorful rendering of the Lunar New Year rooster created by FIT’s Illustration assistant chair Kam Mak for the new postage stamp. Mak was selected by the U.S. Postal Service in 2008 to create an annual stamp through 2019 for its Celebrating Lunar New Year series. The Year of the Rooster is being issued as a souvenir sheet of 12 self-adhesive Forever stamps.

Following the concept of using the Lunar New Year elements, Mak’s  Year of the Rooster stamp is adorned with a still-life painting of the Chinese red envelope— called hongbao in Mandarin and lai see in Cantonese—decorated with the majestic rooster on the cover. Art director and stamp designer Ethel Kessler worked again with Mak on this stamp to create elements of continuity, like the calligraphic symbols on the left-hand side.

The U.S. Postal Service launched the Year of the Rooster stamp in Seattle on January 15th with a first-day issue ceremony at the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience.

Looking forward to seeing upcoming designs in years to come!

Meli B