Non Justia Omnibus

June 29, 2011 6:17 AM

Fifty and Fifty: The State Mottos Illustrated mottos for the fifty states, by fifty different designers.
posted by OmieWise (79 comments total)

New Hampshire has the best state motto ever: Live Free or Die. It's the entire American Revolution distilled into four words.
posted by John Farrier at 6:30 AM on June 29, 2011 [3 favorites]

This is pretty goofy. I am in favor of goofiness.
posted by dismas at 6:31 AM on June 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

These are lovely and enjoyable, but I must say that the one for my state suggests that Maine has perhaps been taken over by the Soviet Union.
posted by JanetLand at 6:31 AM on June 29, 2011

The NJ motto as Juicy Couture ass branding pants.

Well. Its perfect.
posted by JPD at 6:32 AM on June 29, 2011

Wow! I didn't realize the Texas state motto was "Friendship". Pretty ironic there. Maybe the illustrator should have substituted the Native American for a Hispanic immigrant...
posted by astapasta24 at 6:35 AM on June 29, 2011

"Nothing without Providence" should be Rhode Island's motto instead of Colorado's.
posted by Freon at 6:35 AM on June 29, 2011 [12 favorites]

they're all lovely from an aesthetic standpoint, to my mind.

But I do wish some of them also took the ability of a person to ascertain what the text was into consideration. (Seriously, what does that say?)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:36 AM on June 29, 2011 [4 favorites]

Motto(s): Alki (Chinook Wawa: "Eventually" or "By and by")[1]

I don't see it either.
posted by codacorolla at 6:43 AM on June 29, 2011

Seriously, what does that say?

Huh. Turns out it's a Native American pidgin phrase - Al-ki. It means "by and by", which would explain all the Ys all over the place, but as to how the picture says that...
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 6:44 AM on June 29, 2011

Empress - "By & By". I had to look it up. The Ys and the & show up fine. But the Bs? A stretch, for both.

Also, nitpicking - Michigan has TWO peninsulas. Yeah, the hand thing is easy - look a mitten! But you have two hands, and it isn't that hard to do the U.P. with the other one.
posted by caution live frogs at 6:44 AM on June 29, 2011

The Kansas motto is in the shape of Missouri and that makes me uncomfortable.
posted by chara at 6:46 AM on June 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

I've always hated Maryland's sexist motto, but damn, that's a funny interpretation.
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:50 AM on June 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

I've always hated Maryland's sexist motto, but damn, that's a funny interpretation.

Yeah, I was pretty disappointed to find that out. The interpretation is pretty funny though - it reminds me of something you would see in an early Jon Waters movie, at any rate.
posted by codacorolla at 6:54 AM on June 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

I like how they're all labeled or at least in alphabetical order and easily linkable. It's the damn thing was designed not be easily accessible.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:58 AM on June 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

I keep clicking and clicking and nothing lets me buy prints and now I am sad.
posted by Tomorrowful at 6:59 AM on June 29, 2011

Ugh...They're not alphabetical, they're not labeled, there isn't even a tool-tip when hovering over an image and the project title isn't accurate (there are 52 images there: 2 for Hawaii and 1 for DC). OK, I'm done now.
posted by trueluk at 7:01 AM on June 29, 2011 [2 favorites]

For those frustrated by the navigation: If you go to the Post Archive, they're not in any kind of order but they're more clearly labeled (and there's information about the artists and links to their design studios, usually).

Also, c'mon, you don't have all of the states' mottos memorized? None of you are allowed on my pub quiz team.
posted by dismas at 7:02 AM on June 29, 2011

Some of these are pretty cool, though the overall effect leaves me somewhat with a "cut from the same cloth" feeling. Perhaps there were limitations set?

As for my home state's motto...Really? With high-dynamic and visual words like "crossroads" and "America" in it, that's the best you could come up with? A re-creation of a typical sign-form of the period?
posted by Thorzdad at 7:04 AM on June 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

The Tennessee one looks pretty spot-on, really. Especially the BBQ.
posted by ukdanae at 7:08 AM on June 29, 2011

Illinois is Weineriffic.
posted by Sailormom at 7:08 AM on June 29, 2011

Ugh...They're not alphabetical, they're not labeled, there isn't even a tool-tip when hovering over an image and the project title isn't accurate...

THIS -- they've got nice graphic designers, but poor interface designers.

Also, the North Dakota one needs to be more zoomable -- there's a lot of tiny text in there about the state; I find it remarkable that there's THAT MUCH to be said about North Dakota, and I love the place. Loved the Maryland one, too.

Bonus: the news section introduced me to the United Steaks of America.
posted by AzraelBrown at 7:10 AM on June 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

First impression: some nice retro style and typography going on, but at least half of them don't seem to match the words or meaning of the mottos at all and just look like random pairings. Might as well just say "This is some T E X T ! "
posted by p3t3 at 7:16 AM on June 29, 2011 [2 favorites]

My own version of South Carolina's motto "Dum Spiro Spero" (While I breathe, I hope) depicts an ancient Confederate in a wheelchair on an oxygen machine.
posted by octobersurprise at 7:18 AM on June 29, 2011 [3 favorites]

Also, I hate to be a grumpy old man, but

50 AND 50 IS A CURATED PROJECT...

What is that? What does that even mean? Does it mean that you didn't take submissions from random strangers off the street, and instead "curated" these entries from these fifty designers? Isn't that the normal thing to do? ARRGGH
posted by aaronbeekay at 7:22 AM on June 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

-also
posted by aaronbeekay at 7:22 AM on June 29, 2011

I agree with the disparity between the site design and the graphic design. The most sensible thing to do is to work your navigation into a clickable map.

I do like the structured format for each of the posters, however. The limited color palette and retro theme work really well for the content, I think.
posted by codacorolla at 7:26 AM on June 29, 2011

It should be a mouse over map.

Live Free or Die is still champ and always will be.
posted by nathancaswell at 7:34 AM on June 29, 2011

I'm reading Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History right now, (great book, BTW) so the Texas one seems especially apt.
posted by Devils Rancher at 7:35 AM on June 29, 2011

Huh, they all look like album covers for bands you hear on This American Life.

I agree NJ's is perfect.
posted by The Whelk at 7:37 AM on June 29, 2011 [7 favorites]

I always thought NJ's motto was:
"Enjoy our thick creamy shakes"
posted by Flood at 7:47 AM on June 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

These are terrible. I didn't enjoy a single one of them.
posted by EJXD2 at 7:51 AM on June 29, 2011

LIVE
OR DIE
FREE
posted by mr_crash_davis at 8:09 AM on June 29, 2011

I hate to rag on a post, but these are awful. Boo! Boo, I say!
posted by unixrat at 8:10 AM on June 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

Live Free, No Sales Tax!
posted by maryr at 8:15 AM on June 29, 2011

i'm wondering if they were "re-colored" (and possibly post-processed in other ways, like distressing) after they were submitted, or if a strict color palette and style guide was issued, etc. while some look like they were phoned in, i think on the whole, this is a fun collection of designs.
posted by rude.boy at 8:19 AM on June 29, 2011

Missouri's made me laugh.
posted by hydrophonic at 8:21 AM on June 29, 2011

Here are some superheroes as flags.
posted by swift at 8:22 AM on June 29, 2011

Also, nitpicking - Michigan has TWO peninsulas. Yeah, the hand thing is easy - look a mitten! But you have two hands, and it isn't that hard to do the U.P. with the other one.

To be fair, the motto itself omits the Upper Peninsula.
posted by joe lisboa at 8:23 AM on June 29, 2011

Brandon Blatcher: I like how they're all labeled or at least in alphabetical order and easily linkable. It's the damn thing was designed not be easily accessible.

In FireFox 5.0, I can right-click and view the image, or copy the image location. Example: Mary Land (whose motto is in archaic Italian, and can be taken to mean "Strong deeds, gentle words").

Alternatively, you can look through the archive, and see the images without a flash gallery.

Washington DCs isn't so interesting in design, as it is amusing in wordplay.

And Arizona confuses me - why is God Enriching by way of tangled snakes?

Oooh, West Virginia is mocking it's own seal design.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:23 AM on June 29, 2011

To be fair, the motto itself omits the Upper Peninsula

Heh, because it says "a pleasant peninsula" which we all know the Upper isn't, right? ZING!
posted by scrowdid at 8:27 AM on June 29, 2011

Yeah, the hand thing is easy - look a mitten! But you have two hands, and it isn't that hard to do the U.P. with the other one.

Yeah. The L.P. has been doing the U.P. with both hands for years.
posted by eriko at 8:34 AM on June 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

I thought our motto here in Illinois was "Our Governors Make Our License Plates."
posted by eriko at 8:35 AM on June 29, 2011 [4 favorites]

Heh, because it says "a pleasant peninsula" which we all know the Upper isn't, right? ZING!

Heh, no, the U.P. is beautiful. I just mean the motto only mentions one peninsula. Also, the word peninsula is funny.

Peninsula.
PENINSULA.
Peninsula
posted by joe lisboa at 8:39 AM on June 29, 2011

Too bad there's no Washington DC - "Taxation Without Representation". And the graphic design can just be a big blue hand flippin the bird.
posted by FatherDagon at 8:40 AM on June 29, 2011

FatherDagon: Washington DC.

Another grumble about the crummy navigation. Would be nice also to have the text of the mottoes underneath or something, since so many (WA state, WTF?) are unreadable in the graphics.
posted by epersonae at 8:47 AM on June 29, 2011

Taxation without representation isn't, unfortunately, the DC motto. It's Justia Omnibus: Justice for all.

The navigation is crummy. I also thought there was no DC, see the title of the post.
posted by OmieWise at 8:50 AM on June 29, 2011

These might have been quite wonderful in the hands of serious commercial artists interested in perhaps stretching their creative wings, but to give the project over to Mrs Wilkinson's Grade 8 drawing class, pissing them off royally just a couple days before summer break, was probably not the best approach.
posted by Mike D at 8:52 AM on June 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

I wish these were available in their original languages where applicable (usually Latin). "Excelsior" > "Ever upward."
posted by asperity at 9:12 AM on June 29, 2011

Wow! I didn't realize the Texas state motto was "Friendship"
We should just change it to "Don't Mess With Texas" since that's what most people outside the state seem to think it is anyway.

It's really an anti-littering slogan.
posted by PapaLobo at 9:39 AM on June 29, 2011

The NY one is lovely. I'd buy that on a souvenir T-Shirt.
posted by mippy at 9:40 AM on June 29, 2011

Jesus Christ. Would it have killed them to make a fucking clickable map with links to each state? Or am I crazy and just can't find it? Somewhere along the way in this project someone said "Let's not have a clickable map or label each state. Let's make them click though every fucking image to see what state the motto is from." Fuck that person.
posted by BeerFilter at 9:55 AM on June 29, 2011 [2 favorites]

I've always thought that Oregon's motto ("she flies with her own wings") speaks really well to the independence of the region, and without all that militarism (I'm looking at you, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Virginia, Mississippi, and the rest of you).
posted by OverlappingElvis at 9:56 AM on June 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

Wisconsin's reminds me of a sign you'd see in an Amtrak station or an airport. Not terrible, but meh.
posted by desjardins at 10:08 AM on June 29, 2011

I liked this state motto art project so much better
posted by briank at 10:16 AM on June 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

The Colorado motto makes me think of more about some shared solidarity with Rhode Island.
posted by mrzarquon at 10:20 AM on June 29, 2011

These are terrible. I didn't enjoy a single one of them.

I hate to rag on a post, but these are awful. Boo! Boo, I say!

These might have been quite wonderful in the hands of serious commercial artists interested in perhaps stretching their creative wings, but to give the project over to Mrs Wilkinson's Grade 8 drawing class, pissing them off royally just a couple days before summer break, was probably not the best approach.

Uh, I cannot tell if you guys actually believe these things, or if you're doing some sort of pitch perfect impression of dismissive internet people.
posted by 235w103 at 10:22 AM on June 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

Illinois- Vienna Beef!

I always thought that D.C.'s motto was "W-A-S-H-I-N-G...T-O-N, baby, D.C.!"
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 10:25 AM on June 29, 2011

neat idea, and some are fun designs, but why those colours? blea
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 10:33 AM on June 29, 2011

None of the links in this thread are working for me.

A few of the designers just went with...er, check out this text, I made it less readable! Which, combined with the limited palette, isn't much fun at all.

Texas' was adorable. DC's is witty. Missouri made me giggle.
posted by the young rope-rider at 10:56 AM on June 29, 2011

I am pretty sure RI's motto is actually "Don't Plan, Hope," but this looked pretty.
posted by GenjiandProust at 11:02 AM on June 29, 2011

"Florida! Where fun goes to die".
posted by bouvin at 11:20 AM on June 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

Really disappointed in Minnesota's.

Where's the star? Where's North? WTF with the eagle holding an AXE? And the bottom weird self advertisement: "Proud home of the Steady Print Shop Co"?!?!

Meh.

Really liked New Mexico's.
posted by jillithd at 11:26 AM on June 29, 2011

Really liked New Mexico's.

FYI, this link -- like many others in this thread -- seems to be broken.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:31 AM on June 29, 2011

"Florida! Where fun goes to die".

A friend of mine is from Pensacola, and has come up with his own motto for the Florida Panhandle: "Like Alabama With A Beach."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:32 AM on June 29, 2011

I'm enjoying the other work by the designer of Vermont's minimal motto.
posted by maryr at 11:34 AM on June 29, 2011

FYI, this link -- like many others in this thread -- seems to be broken.

If you get "Page not found," click on the URL to highlight it and press enter.
posted by hydrophonic at 11:39 AM on June 29, 2011

neat idea, and some are fun designs, but why those colours? blea

Red, white, and blue, from the American flag, I assume.
posted by kirkaracha at 12:08 PM on June 29, 2011

The links all work fine for me in both Chrome and IE.
posted by jillithd at 12:17 PM on June 29, 2011

FYI, this link -- like many others in this thread -- seems to be broken.

It seems they might be blocking direct-linking to the images now. You can still pull-up the individual images on the site itself, but remote-linking ain't working. Must be that MeFi-Effect™ on the server.
posted by Thorzdad at 12:22 PM on June 29, 2011

Yeah, the links don't work if you haven't already cached the images in your browser.
posted by maxwelton at 12:25 PM on June 29, 2011

> I'm enjoying the other work by the designer of Vermont's minimal motto.

Hah, small world, I know the some of the people involved in boke bowl.
posted by mrzarquon at 12:41 PM on June 29, 2011

Red, white, and blue, from the American flag

that's not red. it's puce
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 1:36 PM on June 29, 2011

Tennessee's is boring, but I very much like the rendering of it.

Wyoming's has to be the most ironic ever.
posted by blucevalo at 2:27 PM on June 29, 2011

I hate Virginia's motto, "Sic Semper Tyrannis" for its association with John Wilkes Booth and Timothy McVeigh and this rendering just depresses me. Of course, I hate the nickname, "Old Dominion" and the song, "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny," too. "Virginia is for Lovers" is hypocritical. I'm good with the cardinal and dogwood, though.
posted by Morrigan at 3:53 PM on June 29, 2011

"Carry Me Back to Old Virginny" isn't the state song anymore, Morrigan. It hasn't been for a few years, they have just never named a new one.
posted by SuzySmith at 5:54 PM on June 29, 2011

I found the site to be crap. I don't want to keep clicking until I find the one I wanted to see. tl;dr and all that. Besides, Michigan's motto is the only one I always remember, and it is already illustrated just fine, for me, on the flag.
posted by Goofyy at 10:52 PM on June 29, 2011

The Kansas motto is in the shape of Missouri and that makes me uncomfortable.

Well, considering they got the motto* wrong anyway, that's probably just as well.

*Ad Astra Per Aspera
posted by madajb at 12:11 AM on June 30, 2011

The Indiana and New York mottoes are patterned after old train line logos and I really can't rag on them for that since they look awesome.

California's, on the other hand, works not one single bit.
posted by Spatch at 3:43 AM on June 30, 2011

SuzySmith, yes, I know. But it can still be heard, in modified fashion, in some primary school performances.
posted by Morrigan at 5:39 AM on June 30, 2011