Real Talk with Derry Noyes

Getting a handwritten letter or card in the mail always feels special—and every piece of mail needs a stamp! Those sticky little squares accompany every note from a penpal and birthday card from a family member. But who makes the stamps? And who decides what they’ll look like?

Derry Noyes has served as an artistic director with the United States Postal Service (USPS) for decades. She works with the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee to design stamp collections that honor artists and authors, commemorate historical events, and more.   

Noyes told Your Hot Job about her career in design.

Being an artistic director for the USPS sounds like a fascinating job. How did you first get started in this position? 

Bradbury Thompson—a well-known graphic designer and stamp designer—asked me if I would be interested in being a member of the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee. I was appointed to serve for two years, and then graduated from that position in the early 1980s to being a designer of stamps.

How did your education and work on previous projects prepare you for the work?  

I received an MFA [master of fine arts degree] in graphic design, and then worked in a design firm for a couple of years before starting my own business. All of this training served me well, [because I’d] designed books, posters, brochures, exhibits, and the like. Designing small, for postage stamps, requires a different mindset, but all the principles of good design are the same, whether [you’re] working small or at a larger scale.

Where do you get your ideas for what stamp collections to create? 

The Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee is responsible for deciding on the subjects for stamps each year, as recommended by the general public. You can make suggestions for stamp subjects. The instructions to do so can be found on the USPS website. The art directors receive the assignments, and then [we] try our very best to make them into viable stamps.

Once an idea is approved, what steps do you take to make those stamps a reality?

I work with USPS and their research team and decide on the best approach, whether it be using illustration, photography, or a museum piece, depending on the subject. The artist and myself work back and forth from sketches to final art. Simultaneously, I work on the typography to be integrated with the imagery. I present the ideas to the Stamp Advisory Committee and get their feedback. Once approved, which can take a long time of trial and error, the final solution goes to the legal team for proper vetting and ultimately the postmaster general’s approval. After that, it goes into production to be made into a stamp.

In your opinion, why are stamps important?

They tell the American story, our history and culture in all its beauty, recognizing people, places, events, etcetera. These tiny pieces of paper carry a lot of weight!

You recently designed a stamp collection for the children’s book Goodnight Moon (written by Margaret Wise Brown, with illustrations by Clement Hurd). Why was it important to celebrate this book? Do you have a personal connection to it? 

I [had] this book as a small child and went on to read it to my five children when they were very little. There’s a reason it has captivated generations, in that the ritual of reading out loud to children remains the same, at this very young age. It has become a true classic.

Is there a stamp collection you’ve designed that you’re particularly proud of?

There are many. It has been such a delightful job. I have learned about subjects I knew nothing about until given the opportunity to explore and then create the stamps. It would be hard to single out one.

What traits do you think have best served you in your job?

Consistency, being flexible, striving for excellence, and listening to people. Above all, working well with others and having fun, as much as possible.

What advice would you give to kids looking to pursue a similar career? 

It’s a great career that takes work. Learning in schools about all kinds of visual arts [and] working in design studios [are] good ways to get training step-by-step. It looks easy, now that there are so many tools for everyone to do it themselves on laptops. But the training really distinguishes the slapdash approach from the pros who have gone through rigorous learning over time.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.