The Many States logo

About

The Many States is a web application where people can generate a personalized United States flag based on the states they've visited.

Each visible star in the flag's blue canton represents a visited state, and the stars are ordered based on each state's admission to the Union.

  • Delaware
    December 7, 1787
  • Pennsylvania
    December 12, 1787
  • New Jersey
    December 18, 1787
  • Georgia
    January 2, 1788
  • Connecticut
    January 9, 1788
  • Massachusetts
    February 6, 1788
  • Maryland
    April 28, 1788
  • South Carolina
    May 23, 1788
  • New Hampshire
    June 21, 1788
  • Virginia
    June 25, 1788
  • New York
    July 26, 1788
  • North Carolina
    November 21, 1789
  • Rhode Island
    May 29, 1790
  • Vermont
    March 4, 1791
  • Kentucky
    June 1, 1792
  • Tennessee
    June 1, 1796
  • Ohio
    March 1, 1803
  • Louisiana
    April 30, 1812
  • Indiana
    December 11, 1816
  • Mississippi
    December 10, 1817
  • Illinois
    December 3, 1818
  • Alabama
    December 14, 1819
  • Maine
    March 15, 1820
  • Missouri
    August 10, 1821
  • Arkansas
    June 15, 1836
  • Michigan
    January 26, 1837
  • Florida
    March 3, 1845
  • Texas
    December 29, 1845
  • Iowa
    December 28, 1846
  • Wisconsin
    May 29, 1848
  • California
    September 9, 1850
  • Minnesota
    May 11, 1858
  • Oregon
    February 14, 1859
  • Kansas
    January 29, 1861
  • West Virginia
    June 20, 1863
  • Nevada
    October 31, 1864
  • Nebraska
    March 1, 1867
  • Colorado
    August 1, 1876
  • North Dakota
    November 2, 1889
  • South Dakota
    November 2, 1889
  • Montana
    November 8, 1889
  • Washington
    November 11, 1889
  • Idaho
    July 3, 1890
  • Wyoming
    July 10, 1890
  • Utah
    January 4, 1896
  • Oklahoma
    November 16, 1907
  • New Mexico
    January 6, 1912
  • Arizona
    February 14, 1912
  • Alaska
    January 3, 1959
  • Hawaii
    August 21, 1959

Inspiration

During my senior year at design school, one of my class projects was to design a personal narrative poster. Inspired by cross-country road trips with my long-haul trucker Dad and twin brother Mike, I wanted to represent the states I had visited in each year of my life.

Matt Convente and Mike Convente at around age four in their Dad's 18 wheeler truck cab.
Matt Convente and Mike Convente as toddlers in their driveway driving a Power Wheels 18 wheeler truck cab.
The Many States of Matt Convente personal narrative poster.

With help from my parents, I was able to recollect the states I had visited during the earliest years of my life.

Rather than highlight visited states on a geographic map like existing apps, as a creative twist, I chose to represent visited states as illuminated stars in the flag's blue canton.

I wanted others to be able to create their own flag, so I built The Many States. I have such fond memories of my childhood road trips and continue to enjoy exploring everything the United States has to offer.

Colophon

The Many States is set in Libre Caslon Text, a Google Fonts version of Caslon, originally designed by William Caslon I.

According to Adobe Fonts, “the first printings of the American Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were set in Caslon.”

For the logo, red stripes, and blue canton, I referenced the colors Old Glory Red and Old Glory Blue from the United States Bureau of Educational and Culture Affairs Design Guide (PDF).

Old Glory Red

  • RGB: 179, 25, 66
  • Hex: #B31942

Old Glory Blue

  • RGB: 10, 49, 97
  • Hex: #0A3161