This map was a fun one! I found a website that catalogued historical license plates across the United States (https://www.acme.com/licensemaker/), which led me down a rabbit hole to find and learn about the cool license plate images and themes that states have chosen in the past. Many earlier 1900s license plates are a single, plain color with contrasting numbers, which expanded into images of the landscape, famous landmarks, state birds or animals, conservation efforts like the famous “Don’t Mess with Texas”, or strong industries in a given state (fishing, agriculture, etc). Each license plate is placed on top of the state of origin, and the plate numbers reflect the year the license plate first debuted.

I figured making the map elements look like highway signs would fit within the theme, and I think it turned out well! It kind of feels like a map you’d see in a classroom, which wasn’t the original intent, but is still cool!