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United Plates of America (CANADA FINALE!)


TheGiantsFan

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On 5/6/2022 at 2:31 PM, seasaltvanilla said:

A solid concept for Minnesota. What about using the north star in the middle instead of the state as the separator between numbers and letters? 

 

Glad you liked Minnesota!

 

I wanted to keep the North Star with the state name to give the loon something to "aspire" to, but here's a version with the North Star in the middle just for you:

Spoiler

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On 5/7/2022 at 7:50 AM, midnight.oil said:

I love this series! You've done a terrific job so far.  I have a question about the Minnesota plate: have you tried using some various shades of green for the evergreen trees at the bottom?

 

Thank you so much, and I'm glad you're enjoying the series! :)

 

I originally thought about coloring the trees with various shades of green, but I didn't want it to end up looking like the current Manitoba plates. Plus, I felt like just using the shades of blue really gives off the calm, wintry vibes that I was trying to go for in this design.

 

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MISSISSIPPI

 

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My Mississippi license plate redesign is inspired by the new state flag adopted in 2020. The state’s distinctive “Curly S” logo is retained and is now placed on a red bar inspired by the flag. A wavy yellow bar represents the Mississippi River, and the magnolia flower returns as a serial divider for the first time since 2007.

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  • TheGiantsFan changed the title to United Plates of America (27/56 Mississippi)
45 minutes ago, jzn110 said:

Dude, I've been following this thread for a while and finally signed up because I wanted to say that you've been doing some top-notch work. I'd love to see you take on Canadian plates once you finish this series.

 

Thanks so much, and welcome to the forums! :)

 

I've thought about Canadian plates here and there, and maybe I could take those on next!

 

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MISSOURI

 

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My Missouri design is largely inspired by the state flag and the Gateway Arch, Missouri’s most famous landmark. The overall design is a combination of eras with the wave elements (representing the Mississippi and Missouri rivers) of the 2018 license plate and the gradients of the 1997 license plate. The serifs of the “M” in the state name is inspired by a map of Missouri.

 

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I've reached the halfway point of this series, which means that my Alabama to Missouri plates are now posted on Behance! Please check it out :)

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  • TheGiantsFan changed the title to United Plates of America (28/56 Missouri)

Starting off the second half of this series with...

 

MONTANA

 

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My Montana license plate redesign plays into the “Big Sky Country” nickname. Every standard Montana license plate since the 1930s has included the state map, and a county map becomes the “clouds” of the Montana sky. A blue mountainscape fills the bottom half of the plate similar to the 2000 and 2011 standard plates.

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  • TheGiantsFan changed the title to United Plates of America (29/56 Montana)

Your subtle typography treatment on Missouri is fantastic!

And what I like about Montana is that the "county map clouds" also have a bit of a rocky effect to them, emphasizing the mountain aspect of it all.

 

Keep up the awesome work!

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On 5/18/2022 at 6:55 AM, jzn110 said:

Your subtle typography treatment on Missouri is fantastic!

And what I like about Montana is that the "county map clouds" also have a bit of a rocky effect to them, emphasizing the mountain aspect of it all.

 

Keep up the awesome work!

 

Thank you so much! :)

 

I'm glad you liked the Missouri typography, and I actually didn't even catch the "rocky" texture of the clouds so I appreciate the as well!

 

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NEBRASKA

 

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My Nebraska license plate reintroduces the red state map plates used in the late 1960s & early 1970s and introduces the retro font from the Nebraska welcome signs. Chimney Rock & the Sandhills from western Nebraska complement the Nebraska State Capitol & a city skyline from eastern Nebraska in the landscape.

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  • TheGiantsFan changed the title to United Plates of America (30/56 Nebraska)

I've been looking forward to this one!

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NEVADA

 

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This Nevada license plate is inspired by the neon casino lights that glow against the midnight sky all over Nevada. The iconic shape of the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign frames the state name, which is in a Western font to represent its rugged Old West history. Neon mountains line the top similar to Nevada’s 2001-2016 license plate, and a dark blue gradient references the state’s blue license plates used from 1969 to 1984.

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  • TheGiantsFan changed the title to United Plates of America (31/56 Nevada)

NEW HAMPSHIRE

 

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The Old Man of the Mountain has graced New Hampshire license plates since 1987 despite its collapse in 2003. I decided to finally retire the cliff face in favor of a “Granite State” approach in my license plate redesign with a white/light gray/light blue gradient. At the bottom is the state tartan, with purple (from the purple finch, which is the state bird) making its license plate debut. 

Edited by TheGiantsFan
Brightened up the purple and added blue to the gradient, as suggested by stumpygremlin
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  • TheGiantsFan changed the title to United Plates of America (32/56 New Hampshire)
On 5/20/2022 at 1:32 PM, TheGiantsFan said:

NEVADA

 

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These are all so great! Loving the entire series. My only complaint would be that you've used state outlines on several states but they all look nice on their own.

 

I know the idea of this isn't to compliment current plates but these look EXCELLENT together. I think a place like Nevada could really benefit from having two primary plates that touch on the various identities of the state. Others that come to mind would be Illinois having a Chicago style plate and a farming/ag plate. 

Denver Nuggets Kansas City Chiefs Tampa Bay Rays 

Colorado Buffaloes Purdue Boilermakers Florida Gators

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7 hours ago, JTernup said:

These are all so great! Loving the entire series. My only complaint would be that you've used state outlines on several states but they all look nice on their own.

 

I know the idea of this isn't to compliment current plates but these look EXCELLENT together. I think a place like Nevada could really benefit from having two primary plates that touch on the various identities of the state. Others that come to mind would be Illinois having a Chicago style plate and a farming/ag plate. 

 

I love this idea for Wisconsin too.

 

Wisconsin people hate when I point it out, but Wisconsin and Illinois are basically the same state. Big city on Lake Michigan. A few university towns. Prarie/farmland/northwoods everywhere else.

 

And everyone loves Mars Cheese Castle.

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On 5/24/2022 at 6:16 PM, TheGiantsFan said:

NEW HAMPSHIRE

 

52097131618_303b37e8f6_o.png

 

The Old Man of the Mountain has graced New Hampshire license plates since 1987 despite its collapse in 2003. I decided to finally retire the cliff face in favor of a “Granite State” approach in my license plate redesign with a white/light gray gradient. At the bottom is the state tartan, with purple (from the lilac, which is the state flower) making its license plate debut. 

Not a bad plate. I learned something with the tartan. It was created in association with the state's annual Highland Games in Lincoln (which funnily enough, my in-laws go to every year). The tartan, though, is hard to identify at a distance.

 

As far as the lilac, yeah it's the state flower. However, the city of Rochester specifically has had the Lilac festival for longer than the state has had the flower as the state flower. Rochester is also known as "The Lilac City," and puts that on all of its branding. So the lilac bit feels a bit too hyper-specific to Rochester, which is the fifth-largest city in the state.

 

Concerning the gradient, I like the idea of starting white. Might I recommend going from white to gray to a light blue? You could use the white to represent the White Mountains in the state, gray for the granite, and the blue to represent the Seacoast and the beaches.

 

Overall, not a bad go of it. I've been looking forward to this one, since I live in NH.

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On 5/25/2022 at 4:00 PM, NicDB said:
On 5/25/2022 at 1:37 PM, JTernup said:

These are all so great! Loving the entire series. My only complaint would be that you've used state outlines on several states but they all look nice on their own.

 

I know the idea of this isn't to compliment current plates but these look EXCELLENT together. I think a place like Nevada could really benefit from having two primary plates that touch on the various identities of the state. Others that come to mind would be Illinois having a Chicago style plate and a farming/ag plate. 

 

I love this idea for Wisconsin too.

 

Wisconsin people hate when I point it out, but Wisconsin and Illinois are basically the same state. Big city on Lake Michigan. A few university towns. Prarie/farmland/northwoods everywhere else.

 

And everyone loves Mars Cheese Castle.

 

Regarding the state outlines on designs, I do try to restrain myself from going overboard with those designs (even though I will have at least another one coming up). Some states are wide enough to be easy license plates (Kansas and Nebraska, for example), and many states already have state outlines at some point in their license plate history. I'm personally also a huge fan of using state shapes as dividers, so there's that 😅

 

As for alternate license plates, maybe that's something I can explore later on in the series like I had done for Hawaii! I know Utah definitely does something like that IRL (even though the standard plate tries to touch on all parts of the state)

 

On 5/31/2022 at 12:13 PM, stumpygremlin said:

Not a bad plate. I learned something with the tartan. It was created in association with the state's annual Highland Games in Lincoln (which funnily enough, my in-laws go to every year). The tartan, though, is hard to identify at a distance.

 

As far as the lilac, yeah it's the state flower. However, the city of Rochester specifically has had the Lilac festival for longer than the state has had the flower as the state flower. Rochester is also known as "The Lilac City," and puts that on all of its branding. So the lilac bit feels a bit too hyper-specific to Rochester, which is the fifth-largest city in the state.

 

Concerning the gradient, I like the idea of starting white. Might I recommend going from white to gray to a light blue? You could use the white to represent the White Mountains in the state, gray for the granite, and the blue to represent the Seacoast and the beaches.

 

Overall, not a bad go of it. I've been looking forward to this one, since I live in NH.

 

I'll admit I did have a difficult time making a NH plate without the Old Man of the Mountain, so I really appreciate the feedback from a NH resident!

 

Would you suggest reverting the purple on the plates back to green like it is in real life? I decided to go with purple to distinguish New Hampshire from the other blue plates in New England as well as future-proofing myself for my upcoming Vermont design.

 

You do have a great point about including references to the ocean, though! I was a bit hesitant to include references to the state's tiny shoreline, but I'll include it if you think the NH shoreline is relevant enough to the state as a whole.

 

Thank you so much for all these insights! :)

 

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Back from a quick little vacation for the next state!

 

NEW JERSEY

 

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Despite its unpopularity, I decided to revive the 1979-1993 buff-on-blue license plates for my redesign. A New Jersey-shaped flicker lights up the blue background, as Thomas Edison invented the electric lightbulb in the state in 1879. New Jersey boasts the largest number of oceanside boardwalks in the US, and that is referenced by the wooden planks at the bottom of the plate. The state motto replaces the “Garden State” slogan.

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  • TheGiantsFan changed the title to United Plates of America (33/56 New Jersey)
On 6/2/2022 at 2:41 PM, TheGiantsFan said:

 

Regarding the state outlines on designs, I do try to restrain myself from going overboard with those designs (even though I will have at least another one coming up). Some states are wide enough to be easy license plates (Kansas and Nebraska, for example), and many states already have state outlines at some point in their license plate history. I'm personally also a huge fan of using state shapes as dividers, so there's that 😅

 

As for alternate license plates, maybe that's something I can explore later on in the series like I had done for Hawaii! I know Utah definitely does something like that IRL (even though the standard plate tries to touch on all parts of the state)

 

 

I'll admit I did have a difficult time making a NH plate without the Old Man of the Mountain, so I really appreciate the feedback from a NH resident!

 

Would you suggest reverting the purple on the plates back to green like it is in real life? I decided to go with purple to distinguish New Hampshire from the other blue plates in New England as well as future-proofing myself for my upcoming Vermont design.

 

You do have a great point about including references to the ocean, though! I was a bit hesitant to include references to the state's tiny shoreline, but I'll include it if you think the NH shoreline is relevant enough to the state as a whole.

 

Thank you so much for all these insights! :)

 

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Back from a quick little vacation for the next state!

 

The state does have a tiny shoreline, yes, but Hampton Beach is a big tourist spot in the state. Rye is where most of the wealthiest in the state live, and there are some gorgeous oceanfront houses there. Portsmouth is also a pretty decent tourist spot with its downtown area.

 

An idea for the purple, maybe make it reddish, to match the coloring of the state bird, which is the purple finch.

 

Or you could match the main color of the red-tailed hawk, which has been the state raptor since 2019, after it took two tries for some school kids to make that happen. The first try failed so gloriously as to be featured on "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver"

 

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On 6/2/2022 at 7:16 PM, Yee Yee Go 'Stros! said:

I’m a newcomer, and I want to say that I LOVE these!  One request for Texas, could you please put some reference to NASA on our plates?  Loved when we used to have the space shuttle on there…  Keep up the great work!

 

Welcome to the forums, and thank you very much! :)

 

I'll likely be going for a bold, flag-inspired design for Texas, but I'll see if I can incorporate NASA in there somehow! I do have a soft spot for those space shuttle plates, as my family had one of those on our a long time ago! 

 

On 6/3/2022 at 5:17 AM, JerseyJimmy said:

man, I wish they started using that. the piss gradient needs to go.

 

Thanks! I definitely wanted to get rid of that pee gradient, but its successor lives on with the lightbulb gradient on this one 😂

 

On 6/3/2022 at 1:52 PM, stumpygremlin said:

The state does have a tiny shoreline, yes, but Hampton Beach is a big tourist spot in the state. Rye is where most of the wealthiest in the state live, and there are some gorgeous oceanfront houses there. Portsmouth is also a pretty decent tourist spot with its downtown area.

 

An idea for the purple, maybe make it reddish, to match the coloring of the state bird, which is the purple finch.

 

Or you could match the main color of the red-tailed hawk, which has been the state raptor since 2019, after it took two tries for some school kids to make that happen. The first try failed so gloriously as to be featured on "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver"

 

Good to know, thank you! I'll tweak New Hampshire based on your feedback, and I should have that for you next week :)

 

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Now to one of the most beautifully plated states in the country!

 

NEW MEXICO

 

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My New Mexico license plates are direct evolutions of the state’s distinctive yellow and turquoise license plates. The zia from the state flag is no longer the serial divider and instead surrounds a hot air balloon at the top of the plate. Inside the hot air balloon is a geometric pattern inspired by Navajo weaving.

Edited by TheGiantsFan
Added the black chile plate due to popular demand!
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  • TheGiantsFan changed the title to United Plates of America (34/56 New Mexico)
3 hours ago, seasaltvanilla said:

Whoa, whoa, slow down there maestro, there's a new Mexico?

 

Indeed! It's like Mexico, but newer!

 

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Before I get to the next state, here's some edits to recent states:

 

As suggested by @stumpygremlin, here is the New Hampshire plate with a redder shade of purple (inspired by the purple finch instead of the purple lilac) and the addition of light blue to the gradient to represent the tiny but important coastline!

 

Spoiler

52097131618_da78b33504_o.png

 

For New Mexico, I added a redesign of the no-cost chile plate due to popular demand on Twitter!

 

Spoiler

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NEW YORK

 

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Various license plates in New York history have featured a Niagara Falls/New York City collage, and my redesign refreshes these collages with a more abstract approach using the pinstripes found in New York City baseball. At the top, the pinstripes begin their descent as water falling off of Niagara Falls and become urban skyscrapers at the bottom. Similar to Matt Wolff’s NJ/NY Gotham FC identity, a mint green reminiscent of the Statue of Liberty forms the base color of this license plate.

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