New PL8S have Kalispell connection
Tim Braun, owner of Fossil Advertising & Design Co. of Kalispell, shows off the new standard-issue license plate he and senior staff graphic designer Gina Gagnon created for Montana. The plate will be available beginning in January. Fossil has designed other plates, including the best-selling Glacier plate. Camden Easterling/Daily Inter Lake
Graphic designer Tim Braun's work already is highly visible - and mobile - but by January, it also will be the state standard.
Braun, owner of Fossil Advertising & Design of Kalispell, and senior staff graphic designer Gina Gagnon designed the new standard-issue Montana license plate.
Fossil also designed the best-selling specialty plate that benefits the Glacier Fund and other plates such as those for the Yellowstone Park Foundation and the Montana Weed Control Association.
"Really, what we were trying to do was have a plate representative of all of Montana," Braun said.
The plate's blue-green sky fades to gray, and on the bottom, a mountain range morphs into foothills, then prairies. The state outline fills the middle.
Gold letters spell out the state name and "Big Sky Country" above the black letters and numbers. A bison skull is the bullet separating county designations and the plate numbers.
The state received feedback from the public on an earlier version and consequently asked Braun to add more color. Each version had similar color schemes.
"Some people have said, 'This is the greatest plate I've ever seen.' Some said, 'This stinks,'" Braun said of the feedback. "So if you average it out, it's an OK plate."
Motor Vehicle Division Administrator Dean Roberts said when the state was looking to redesign, he checked to see who was known for good plate designs. Fossil was the company often named.
The dimensions of the plates and the print technology meant designers had to work within certain parameters, so Fossil's experience was beneficial, Roberts said.
Braun and Gagnon began designing the plate during June.
The prototype was produced Monday at the Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge.
The new plate will be the first standard issue to be printed rather than stamped in metal. The printing process, used to create specialty plates, is more expensive but faster than stamping, Roberts said.
Plates will be issued during January for new registrations and renewals.
People with personalized standard-issue plates can keep their personalized messages but must get the new plate design.
Fossil will display the new plate on the company's H2 Hummer at the Glacier Park International Mountain Madness Airshow 2005 on Saturday and Sunday.
Reporter Camden Easterling can be reached at 758-4429 or by e-mail at ceasterling@dailyinterlake.com.