Here's more proof that Rhode Islanders don’t like change. The new license plate looks a lot like the one we’ve already got.
Yesterday Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee unveiled the winner of the license plate design contest, and the new plate is basically just a redesign of the old wave plate. Where the old plate featured one wave, this new design has five little waves across the bottom.
Willem Van Lancker, a graduate of Rhode Island School of Design from South Kingstown, provided the winning design. He says the five waves represent the five Rhode Island counties, and the shade of blue he used is brighter than that of the old wave plate. At a press conference yesterday where the new plate was revealed Van Lanker said, “I hope that when it’s on the road it becomes kind of an instantly recognizable thing for Rhode Island.”
Over 940 designs were entered into the contest. Five finalists were revealed last month, and after two weeks of voting and almost 300,000 votes cast, Van Lancker’s design was chosen with 52% of the vote. Personally, I liked the one with the Newport Bridge and the sailboat on it, but I guess not enough people agreed with me.
Photo: RI DMV