Today New York State unveiled a new license plate which generated a lot of controversy. The reason the state is replacing all the old license plates is to generate $260 million in revenue to help with their budget shortfall by charging car owners a mandatory $25 new plate charge, which many drivers see as an unfair tax. New York charged drivers for the last changeover too earlier this decade but this fee is 4½ times more. By contrast, California has never charged its citizens for a mandated license plate redesign. On top of this, drivers will also be charged an additional $20 fee if they want to keep their existing plate numbers.

The current New York license plates were introduced only 8 years ago, while the previous "Liberty" plates (introduced in 1986 for the Statue of Liberty's centennial) remained in circulation for twice as many years.

Aside from the financial controversy, a lot of people don't like the design of the new plates. I however like the new design. It's simple with solid bold colors, unlike so many plates nowadays with complicated artwork with details you can't even see while driving. Most people have noted that the colors are reminiscent of the old blue on gold plates used in the 70s and 80s, but it's doubly-retro since it is also reminiscent of the older gold on blue plates used in the 50s and 60s. The slightly curved upper blue edge gives the classic color combo a modern feel by hinting at the curved light gleams that are prevalent in so many of today's popular web 2.0 logos. And the pinstriping gives it a bit of a sporty feel too. (Hey, can you tell that I love graphic design?)

Bottom line: I hate the reason and way that New York is mandating the change, but I like the design of the new New York license plate.

Labels: New_York