WV-51 (Virginia) (Road Sign) Hoodie - Design Description

This hoodie design evokes a sense of historical nostalgia, reimagining a road sign that never was: a hypothetical "WV-51" marker for the state of Virginia. The artwork focuses solely on the visual representation of such a sign, as it might have appeared in the early 1920s.

Design Elements & Interpretation

The central element of the design is a stylized representation of a road sign. The style is deliberately anachronistic, incorporating elements of West Virginia's established route marking practices from 1922. It features a vertical rectangular layout, mirroring the early "W VA State Route" metal tags, or reflecting the earlier painted pole markers. Two prominent red bands, separated by a white space, are a key feature of early WV signage. Within the white space, the large numerals "51" are stenciled, in a vintage font, representing the route number.

The design plays with the contrast between West Virginia's route numbering system (“WV”) and the actual state of Virginia. It is designed to create a sense of intrigue and speculation. The design aims to suggest an alternate reality where the two states’ highway systems were somehow intertwined in the early 1920s. It could also be an homage to a time when state highway markings were rudimentary, before the now-ubiquitous highway shield emerged. The whole design is a deliberate fiction, a visual puzzle for those familiar with road sign history.