One of my bucket list items is to visit every State in the USA. I even have a dedicated journal of facts and things to do in each State. For this project, I created an icon set of 12 from State nicknames, giving these icons relevance and recognizability outside of the common State shape, representing specific States in a visually pleasing and simple way. I hope to be able to use these icons through an online journal as I visit each state.
First I wanted to sketch out ideas for how to convey the nicknames of several States. This helped me see which State nicknames had the most potential for becoming icons. I do plan to complete the set of 50, but for now I wanted to hone in on my skills of creating strong icons with the simpler nicknames, then move on to the more difficult nicknames to render (such as the Mount Rushmore State — South Dakota).
Moving into Illustrator, I started out with the shape of the State, because most of their shapes are very unique and distinguished. I, however, outlined everything in a crescent, trying to make them cohesive, ultimately hiding what was actually iconic about them.
Moving away from the circle outline, I started bringing in more detail to my drawings and playing with their placement in relation to the State shape.
I wasn't loving how each drawing was fitting in relation to the State outline, so I tried a few different ideas out (as you can see with Utah), but I really felt restricted and stuck. I was especially concerned how I might fit more complex shapes together in an appealing way.
After getting some outside feedback, I decided that the nickname icons were strong enough to stand on their own. My goal for this project was to find something unique about each State, so bringing in cliché symbols (the State outlines) seemed to be counterintuitive.
Once I had found the true message I wanted to convey and the style I was going for, I was able to create my fist 12 State icons. They are cohesive in their line width, simplistic style, and shading. This final rendering shows the finishing touches of softening colors, points, and edges.
The States I chose for these first 12 are Utah, Maine, Idaho, New Mexico, Montana, Texas, Kansas, Wisconsin, Georgia, Mississippi, Rhode Island, and Florida.
These icons all directly relate to iconic elements of the State they are to convey, especially recognizable to someone familiar with each particular State and their nicknames.
The States I chose for these first 12 are Utah, Maine, Idaho, New Mexico, Montana, Texas, Kansas, Wisconsin, Georgia, Mississippi, Rhode Island, and Florida.
These icons all directly relate to iconic elements of the State they are to convey, especially recognizable to someone familiar with each particular State and their nicknames.
These icons are especially effective when placed on a map, if needed, giving the familiarity I was going for with my initial concept.
