Aaron Draplin, a 1993 visual communications graduate from Northwestern Michigan College, has been chosen as the designer of a new commemorative U.S. Postal Service stamp.

The Star Ribbon stamp will be released on March 22 and sold in panes of 20 and in coils of 3,000 and 10,000 https://store.usps.com/store/product/buy-stamps/star-ribbon-S_760504. "Offering a fresh take on patriotic stamps, the design features a digital illustration of a star made from a single red, white, and blue ribbom," according to the official U.S. Postal Service description. 

Draplin runs Draplin Design Studio in Portland, Oregon, and has worked with clients ranging from Ford Motor Company to the Obama administration, according to NMC. He last returned to the college campus in 2015 with an exhibition at the Dennos Museum Center. In an NMC newsletter, Draplin said he "learned how to take a photo, draw naked bodies, paint, build a portfolio, sculpt, draw in rigid perspective, write a paper, get lost in Roman architecture, and design a logo in this new stuff called 'design software,'" while in NMC's visual communications program.

"I packed in so much," he says. "It took me a couple years to realize how much they unlocked in me. Everyone escapes their hometown. I did as soon as I could, but did it armed. Armed with a great foundation."