Sylvia Harris, a member of the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee (CSAC) since 2001 and a successful designer and leader, died Sunday, July 24, in Washington, DC.
“I am deeply saddened by the news of the passing of Sylvia Harris, a member of CSAC and friend of USPS,” said Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe. “Sylvia has been a valuable contributor to the stamp program for more than a decade. As a leading information design strategist, her contributions to stamp design have been enormous. On behalf of the Postal Service, I wish to express my sincerest condolences to her husband, Gary Singer, her sister, Juliette, and daughter, Thai.”
The contributions Harris made to CSAC include her recent work on the Pioneers of American Industrial Design and Romare Bearden stamps. She also was instrumental in moving the debut of the popular Go Green stamps from 2012 to this year, because she felt their issuance sooner rather than later would have a greater impact.
Longtime friend and fellow CSAC member Jessica Helfand said Harris was “the rarest of people, astutely intelligent, gracious and elegant, witty and charming, and warm.” She added, “That she was adored by so many people, in so many worlds — from her design leadership to her citizen advocacy to her numerous contributions as an educator, peer, and mentor — amplifies the degree to which she was, and is, simply irreplaceable.”
For 25 years, Harris was a leading graphic art and research consultant. She was the founder and principal of Citizen Research and Design, a firm that specializes in providing support to public interest organizations. Over the years, she worked with leading hospitals, universities, and civic organizations. In addition to her service as a member of CSAC, her clients included the New York City Department of Transportation, New York University, the Medicare program, and the Ford Foundation.