The Colorado Department of Revenue recently held a contest to design license plates to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of Colorado Statehood. My ideation process revolved around Colorado’s history and various state symbols. In 1910, the Daughters of the American Revolution submitted a design featuring two outer red stripes, one middle white stripe, and the Colorado seal in the center.
DAR proposal design, 1910
While on the flag line of thought, I made a version based upon the current state flag, although maybe it is closer to the alternate version created by Andrew Carlson, used from 1911 to 1964. I did not submit this concept, as there was a limit to 3 designs per contestant.
Variant state flag, 1911–1964
What else “screams” Colorado? The “Welcome to Colorful Colorado” signs at many state borders. For this design, I tried to include the blue of Colorado skies, the green fields, and a ribbon or vein of Gold as other examples of state symbols.
For the last of my submissions, I looked at the 1976 Bicentennial celebration design. I leveraged the sesquicentennial logo that was in the contest documentation. Which I believe is also from a 1976 design.
The other ideas I had revolved around Gold, its molecular structure, and the Mile High nickname of the state.
Tools: Illustrator