The State Plates Project states that the country's license plates have taken a turn for the worst over the past 50 years. To remedy this automotive assault on our design sensibilities, they've enlisted 50 of the top designers from each state to take a stab at redesigning plates from each state to make them look less like tramp stamps and more like champ stamps.
Here's a tasteful and reserved execution for Missouri's by Drew Roper:
There's a little bit of everything in Missouri; the Great Plains in the north, the Ozark Mountains in the south, and the bodies of water that crisscross the state. But it's the rivers that truly dominate the geography. Growing up I remember the switch from a dark red plate to a blue and teal plate with a river motif, and for some reason I thought they were the coolest thing ever. The three greatest rivers in North America run through Missouri, so it only made sense to pay homage to them.
I also wanted the hypothetical registrants of these plates to be able to represent the cities they live in. Back in the day each city had their own specific plate, and I wanted to bring that back in a way that was cost effective and relevant to the registration process. Stickers containing the expiration month and year would be brightly colored and big enough that they become integrated with the plate design itself. Too often these stickers are an afterthought and hidden up in the corner of the plate, so the cityscapes represented here bring the sticker into a more prominent position.
Couldn't help but show the redesigns for our near neighbors, Illinois by Mike McQuade:
And Mr. Draplin's rocking redesign for Oregon:
View them all here.
