Gov. Kim Reynolds says she has called the graphic designer who created the three proposed images for Iowa’s new license plate. Iowa Department of Transportation employee Christina Andersen's work has been mocked and criticized on social media as bland or terrible.
"The severity of the words chosen in these comments ranges from stinging to an absolute gut punch that leaves me short of breath and tears flowing uncontrollably," wrote Andersen on her personal Facebook page last week.
The governor points out that Andersen's work saved taxpayer money because she is already a state employee, so a contractor wasn't hired for the project. During the phone call, Reynolds told Andersen not read those comments.
"We took advantage of the talent that we have in that agency and they worked really hard to put this together, to put the designs together," says Reynolds. "I thanked her for her work and I told her how proud we were of it. And I reminded her that there is a lot of positive comments being made out there also."
The plate designs have to be simple so they’re legible for law enforcement. Andersen wrote that she would have "loved to do a full color, striking design like the ones submitted by other artists, but those weren't the parameters."
The three options include an eagle with patriotic colors, a rural scene of rolling hills, and the outline of Des Moines’ skyline along with a windmill and field of crops. Iowans can vote on which design they like the most.
