About Design Turnpike

Dave at work

My name is David Bowman, and I create handmade license plate art and maps under the name Design Turnpike. Thank you for visiting my website.

As a boy, I loved keeping track of license plates. Road trips were kept entertaining by keeping a tally list of the many diverse plates I saw on the road along the way. Family vacations to New Mexico, South Dakota, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Canada and many other destinations exposed me to the wealth of color, style and personality of each state's tag. My interest in maps, geography, travel and crafting grew to inspire my license plate artwork. In fact, a blue Michigan plate that adorned my first vehicle in 1998 lives on in one of the pieces in my personal collection.

Working from Detroit, the birthplace of the modern automobile, I continue to brainstorm and produce various new designs along with some of the classic license plate maps shown throughout this website.

Me at work at the computer

Above: Me working hard on a new layout concept in one of my many workspaces. Coldplay band members are looking on approvingly.