CRANSTON – Images of ocean life, the Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge, the Providence city skyline and some visuals poking fun at Rhode Island were among the more than 1,000 designs that were submitted for the state’s RI State License Plate Contest.
The R.I. Division of Motor Vehicles released Friday the 42-page document that can be downloaded here showing all designs submitted to the state for the contest that was launched back in December. The state was seeking replace the “Blue Wave” design that has been in use since 1996.
Expanding Women’s Health in Newport
South County Health has expanded its award-winning Center for Women’s Health to Newport, offering a…
Learn More
Since then, RIDMV officials selected five designs to be voted on over a two-week period through March 28. South Kingstown resident Willem Van Lancker’s design paying homage to the current design that has emblazoned on Ocean State license plates for the last quarter century was chosen on April 6 as the winning design.
Among the designs, which were both digitally done and drawn by hand, also included images of lighthouses, boat anchors synonymous with the Rhode Island state flag, the R.I. Statehouse, the “Independent Man” standing atop of the Statehouse, the “Rhode Island Red” state bird, fish, lobsters, sailboats and wind turbines noting the state’s growing wind energy industry. One plate design was Dunkin’ Donuts-themed.
Some submissions had images of the “Cooler and Warmer” logo, poking fun at the state’s much-criticized 2016 tourism campaign, and one had an image of a pothole and the plate language called Rhode Island the “Pothole State.”
After Van Lancker’s design was selected, there has been some commentary on social media criticizing the selection, with some saying the new design looks too much like the old one.
Current results of a Providence Business News online survey also yield some unfavorable marks on the new plate design. As of 1:10 p.m. Friday, when asked if people are “glad Rhode Island’s “Blue Wave” license plate will only be reimagined rather than replaced?” 92.3% of respondents said either “no, 25 years was long enough for the wave design” or “no, the original design didn’t need updating.” Only 7.7% said state leaders “underestimated Rhode Islanders’ affection for the wave design.”
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
