Pinback Buttons

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.

After growing up in Bend, Oregon, and Sacramento, California, musician Don Clark started a band and toured the country. In the late 1990s, he transitioned to the world of graphic design. In 2006, Clark and his brother Ryan founded Seattle design and illustration studio, Invisible Creature. IC has worked with clients such as Target, NASA, LEGO, Nike, Adobe, XBox, The New York Times, Wired, and MTV. Music packaging designed by the studio has been nominated for four Grammy Awards. Invisible Creature also designs and curates its own line of toys and products for both children and adults.

Dragons (2018), Clark's first project for the U.S. Postal Service, was followed by Holiday Elves (2022) and the “Smile” artwork for Pinback Buttons (2024).

Self-taught artist and illustrator Lisa Congdon has made a career creating posters, packaging, book illustrations, and ad campaigns for apparel and footwear brands. She has brought her graphic hand-lettered designs to projects for clients around the world, including Brooks Running, Warby Parker, Google, Target, Comme des Garçons, and REI, among many others. She also works extensively for companies in the cycling industry, which, as an avid endurance cyclist, appeals to both her professional and personal interests.

Utilizing bright colors and a whimsical sensibility, Congdon creates illustrations that are bold and make a statement. She draws inspiration from what she refers to as the “three Fs” —folk imagery, flora, and fauna. Mid-century graphic design and illustration also influence her playful style.

Congdon is the author of 10 books, including Art, Inc.: The Essential Guide to Building Your Career as an Artist (2014) and Find Your Artistic Voice: The Essential Guide to Working Your Creative Magic (2019). She also hosts the podcast The Lisa Congdon Sessions, and is cofounder of The Long Table Foundation, which provides professional mentoring and grants for Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and Asian artists and creative entrepreneurs. A native of the San Francisco Bay Area of California, she lives and works in Portland, Oregon.

The “Cheers!” artwork for Pinback Buttons (2024) is Congdon’s first project for the U.S. Postal Service.

Dan Kuhlken and Nathan Goldman, partners in the design studio DKNG, met in high school where their first collaboration was playing in a band for which they designed album art and promotional materials. They would later begin to build a portfolio on another collaboration: posters promoting performances at West Hollywood’s legendary Troubadour.

With dynamically different skill sets ranging from fine art (Kuhlken) to film production (Goldman), DKNG Studios brings diverse talents and artistic perspectives to every project. Clients include some of the world’s most talented and iconic musical artists, brands, and businesses, among them, The Black Keys, Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, Outside Lands Music Festival, SXSW, Wired, Bank of America, Audi, Lucasfilm, Paramount Pictures, HBO, and MTV.

Kuhlken holds a graphic design degree from California State University Long Beach. He worked as a designer for Disney’s Consumer Products Division and various fashion labels before joining DKNG Studios full-time in 2009 where he currently serves as Creative Director and Senior Illustrator.

After graduating from the University of Southern California’s School of Film & Television, Goldman worked in the art department at Warner Bros. Television. Prior to joining DKNG as a full-time Creative Director, he served as Director of Design at the USC Design Studio.

Military Working Dogs (2019), DKNG’s first project for the U.S. Postal Service, was followed by the “Kudos!” artwork for Pinback Buttons (2024).

Born and raised in Texas, Ryan Feerer received an M.F.A. in design from the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

As a designer and illustrator, Feerer merges typography and illustration with a sense of humor for projects ranging from hometown businesses to international campaigns. He has created work for brands that include Ace Hotel, Academy Sports + Outdoors, Etsy, Fossil, Meta, and Target. He likes to focus his work on doing “good things for good people,” creating unique and timeless designs.

In addition to his design practice, Feerer owns an apparel brand called Fieldschool with friend and colleague Mike Wiggins.

Feerer lives in Abilene, Texas, with his wife, Cassie; daughters, Rose and Sunday; and son, Oliver.

Western Wear (2021), his first project for the U.S. Postal Service, was followed by the “Yes!” artwork for Pinback Buttons (2024).

Originally from Enfield, Connecticut, Jay Fletcher has been living and working in Charleston, South Carolina, since 2001 as a graphic designer and illustrator. In 2004 he started J Fletcher Design, which has flourished into a full-time business with a stable of successful clients and international recognition from some of the design world’s most prominent voices. With a focus on logo and brand identity design, his portfolio spans more two decades and smartly straddles the line between contemporary and timeless.

Fletcher has created illustrations and logos for the National Football League Foundation, the Family Circle Cup, Nickelodeon, the Charleston Food + Wine Festival, and the College of Charleston.

The Art of Magic (2018), Fletcher's first project for the U.S. Postal Service, was followed by the “Peace” artwork for Pinback Buttons (2024).

In a creative career spanning more than 20 years, hand-lettering artist and illustrator Gia Graham has worked on projects ranging from corporate design and branding to art direction, photo styling, and stationery design. Born in Barbados, she draws inspiration from her Caribbean roots and the shapes and movement found in nature. As an island girl living in an urban world, Graham’s work has evolved over the years to uniquely merge these opposing cultural aesthetics.

Her current focus is working with product-based companies to bring their products and projects to life with lettering and illustration, enlivened with lush florals, foliage, and vibrant colors. Her clients include Penguin Random House, American Greetings, Trader Joe’s, Mr. Jones Watches, Shutterfly, and Macmillan Publishers. In 2022 she won a CLIO Award for her artwork on a collector’s box set celebrating the 10th anniversary of The Hunger Games.

Graham, who holds a B.F.A. in graphic design from George State University, lives and works in Atlanta, Georgia.

The “Fun” artwork for Pinback Buttons (2024) is her first project for the U.S. Postal Service.

New York–based multidisciplinary artist, designer, creative director, and typographer Juan Carlos Pagan has created visual identities and campaigns for brands including Pinterest, Cîroc, Under Armour, Apple, Disney, and NPR. He has also designed cover art for publications such as the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Variety.

In 2013 Pagan received the prestigious Young Guns Award from The One Club for Creativity, which recognizes the world’s best creatives under the age of 30. That same year he was named the top of Adweek‘s Talent 100. He was subsequently nominated for PRINT magazine’s New Visual Artist 20 Under 30. In 2018 Pagan received the Type Directors Club Ascenders Award, which recognizes designers who are 35 years of age and under for their remarkable achievement in design and typography.

Pagan has led creative departments at MTV, DDB New York, Deutsch NY, and 72andSunny NY. In 2017 he co-founded Sunday Afternoon, a hybrid creative design studio and artist management agency. Sunday Afternoon was named to the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing companies in America in 2020. In 2022 PRINT magazine named the firm Design Agency of the Year.

Pagan received his B.F.A. from Parsons School of Design in 2006 and completed his postgraduate studies in typeface design at The Cooper Union in 2011.

The “Love” artwork for Pinback Buttons (2024) is his first project for the U.S. Postal Service.

Award-winning graphic designer and illustrator Jeff Rogers specializes in custom typography and branding. He works as creative director at the Dallas-based studio *TraceElement, where he takes on projects ranging from full-scale brand identity and large murals to small editorial spot illustrations, and everything in between.

Rogers studied music, fine art, and design before receiving a B.F.A. in graphic design from Abilene Christian University. After a brief stint as a touring musician, he began a career in graphic design and illustration. Working with clients like the Monterey Jazz Festival marries his various personal and professional interests. Other clients include McDonald’s, Google, Nike, Ford, The New York Times, and Michael Kors.

Drawing inspiration from myriad sources, including his experience as a musician, century-old type specimens, delicious food, small towns in Texas, handmade signs, and his children, Rogers creates well-crafted designs while making sure that “the bumps and scratches of the process are not buffed out.”

The “Sweet” artwork for Pinback Buttons (2024) is his first project for the U.S. Postal Service.

Tré Seals has been on a lifelong path when it comes to design: He has been practicing writing in cursive since he was in kindergarten and started his first business selling three-dollar graffiti-style name cards to his classmates at the age of 10. By high school, he was designing tattoos, bead jewelry, comic strips for the school paper, yearbooks, his first font, and more.

After graduating in 2015 with a degree in visual communication design, Seals opened his own brand consultancy, Studio Seals (2015–2020). Through this venture, he worked with more than 250 partners, ranging from small startups to national and global brands.

Inspired by the lack of diversity in the graphic design industry, Seals launched the diversity-driven font foundry Vocal Type in 2016. Each typeface he creates highlights a piece of history from a different underrepresented race, ethnicity, or gender—from the women’s suffrage movement in Argentina to the civil rights movement in the United States and beyond. His fonts have also become part of progressive movements, taking shape in the form of Black Lives Matter street murals, brand campaigns for the 2020 Virtual March on Washington, political campaigns, and logos for the Amazon Labor Union, among others.

Seals has been named an Ascender by the Type Directors Club, a Young Gun by the One Club for Creativity, and a Black Design Visionary by Instagram and the Brooklyn Museum. He was included on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2023.

The “Hello!” artwork for Pinback Buttons (2024) is Seals’s first project for the U.S. Postal Service.

Gina Triplett studied illustration at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Her work as a student garnered early projects and attention that led to a long career in illustration.

She has been featured in PRINT magazine and Communication Arts, and her work has been recognized by the Society of Illustrators and American Illustration. Her long list of clients includes Whole Foods, Target, Chronicle Books, and the New York Times.

When not working on illustration projects, Triplett maintains an ongoing body of paintings that have been exhibited in New York, Los Angeles, Venice, Beijing, and elsewhere. She now lives and works in Philadelphia.

The “Happy” artwork for Pinback Buttons (2024) is Triplett's first project for the U.S. Postal Service.