About a year ago, our colleagues in the Rocky Mountain Region office, Mike Leahy and Lacy Gray, came to us with an interesting design challenge. They wanted to raise funds and awareness for wildlife on roads across Montana by having a license plate design available through the state that honored the rich wildlife tradition of the area.

Immediately, we knew this had to be easy on the eyes, but also easy to read from a distance with very limited space to fit all of our favorite animals. Where to start? Well, I headed straight for Montana’s DMV website, and like any DMV I’ve ever frequented, there were a lot of rules. All of the measurements were there, and no boundaries could be crossed where those license plate numbers belonged. I had my framework, but now I needed to give it some life.

On the computer, I began drawing the animals we hoped to use, selecting amber colors and rich shadows to make the animals emerge from the powder blue Montana sky in the background. Soon we had a grizzly bear, bison, elk and gray wolf drawn and ready to work into the layout.

Below is what the design looked like as I worked, just pieces of a puzzle, each comprising layers of shapes, color and shade.

After a lot of testing, and sizing the animals so they fit just right, we had our license plate!

Now all our Montana supporters can show their support for wildlife whenever they drive across town. As an added bonus, Defenders gets a $20 donation every time a  license plate is sold or renewed, so we can keep working together to protect wildlife in Montana and across the Rocky Mountains.

Montana residents who would like to purchase a Defenders’ license plate can find more information on the Montana DOJ site.

Visit our Rocky Mountain office page to learn more about our programs.