Ferndale High School student Eric Booth always knew he was interested in art. But he realized art design could become his career in May 1986, when his design was chosen out of hundreds to become the new Washington license plate. It’s a plate that’s still used today, over 35 years later.

“It totally surprised me, given how often a lot of states change their design, for that to still be here after close to 40 years!” Booth said.

As a child, Booth was constantly doodling: baseball standings, the Van Halen logo, Porsches, and more. Once he entered Ferndale High School, he immediately began taking art classes, and fell under the mentorship of art teachers Mary Ellen Stewart and Cliff McKee. He designed bulletin boards for FHS, as well as the school yearbook and newspaper.

“By the time I was a junior, I had taken all the possible art classes,” Booth said.

In 1986, McKee told Booth about the statewide contest to redesign Washington’s license plate. Booth took the challenge and began working on the plate during his art classes. Many of his initial designs were green and white – the same colors as the previous WA license plate – but Booth decided to take a risk and diverge from tradition.

“I definitely wanted to do red, white, and blue, because the cars I liked were red or blue,” Booth said. “I would want my license plate to match the cars I could drive – red and green don’t match!”

Booth got the idea for putting Mt. Rainier on the plate after visiting his dad’s office in Tacoma, which had a stunning view of the mountain. He took out a piece of paper and outlined it on the spot. Initially, Booth’s designs featured a mountain that appeared more like Mt. Baker.

“Especially from the Ferndale view, it’s gorgeous,” he said. “But of course, people from Florida aren’t going to know Mt. Baker.”

Booth submitted his design and then forgot about it – until a couple months later when he got a call from the Washington Department of Licensing, who told him his design was selected out of hundreds to be the new license plate.

“I couldn’t believe what I was hearing!” Booth said. “I remember walking around my yard and not really digesting or understanding anything.”

A few weeks later, Booth and his family drove to Olympia to do a press conference with Gov. Booth Gardner and other state officials. The event was exciting but a little flustering.

“I was like, ‘Do I stand here or there? Where do I look?’” Booth said. “I was looking at my body language and going, ‘Wow, I’m such an 18-year-old kid who doesn’t know what’s happening.’”

In January 1987, Washington began issuing the new plate on cars. Other than a couple small tweaks, the design has remained the same ever since.

After graduating from FHS, Booth worked in graphic design all over the country, working on projects as varied as newspapers to early internet applications. He currently works for shipping and mailing company Pitney Bowes in Connecticut, helping design their software. He said he still sees his Washington license plate in New England now and then.

“It’s one of my proudest accomplishments,” he said. “It just reminds me of what kickstarted my career and became a very big part of who I am."