The States

I am currently reading State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys quirky short stories. It's a great compilation that really gives a face to each state, sometimes confirming stereotypes, and other times just providing interesting facts that could prove useful in boring conversations. But it got me to thinking about the lines that divide us, real and imaginary, and how our environments really shape perceptions, beliefs, and more relevantly (to this blog, anyway), our aesthetics.

Reading State by State made me wonder what it would be like if there were a similar publication that included designers' interpretations of their individual states. How could each one's characteristics, culture, and history be visually represented in a way that would be relevant for a broader audience? Sounds like an assignment to me...

Louisiana print by Frank Chimero

Coincidentally, I recently ran across a link to the work of Frank Chimero, a designer based in Missouri. His series, The States, is a lovely, illustrative interpretation of each state, using it's silhouette as the basis.

Other historical examples can be seen in the posters commissioned by the WPA in the 1930s and 1940s. I chose my home state of Montana :-)