Statesies

Vintage-inspired edge for an all new apparel line

  • Comprehensive Brand Suite
  • Illustration
  • Package Design
  • Apparel Design
  • Creative Strategy
We all live/love somewhere. Statesies and their online shop is slated to launch later this year with a mission to give anyone, anywhere the chance to wear and rep their places with a retro edge and subtle humor through a variety of casual apparel and goods. We got the chance to bring the brand to life with a visual identity and custom character illustrations ready to release in full with their first line of products.
A retro, cartoon character illustration featuring the state shape of Nebraska as the character's body. The Nebraska-dude is casually walking and waving to someone out of scene, while whistling (depicted by a whistling-shaped mouth and music notes). He is wearing shoes.

A Slow Burn

The brains behind Statesies had been toying with the idea of the brand for awhile, and we played with and iterated on a few different concepts. Through thoughtful workshopping and an approach that prioritized alignment in creative direction and purpose from the very beginning, we ultimately landed on a strong, foundational identity that would combine the comforting aspects of familiar style with originality in executing it. The design and function needed to be adaptable, but grounded.

We also had to think heavily about the brand's positioning across such a wide potential market, and consider other aspects of success and connection with audiences including regional preferences, customer habits, and standing out as Statesies – just some folks who love to make things for places.

A white sweatshirt with a yellow neckline, cuffs, and hem line. In the same yellow, the featured character on the front of the sweatshirt is in the shape of the state of Iowa, with corn plants growing out of the top of his "head". He is looking up and to the right while smiling, looking content and happy. The character is always wearing gray shoes with blue and red striped socks.
A photo of the STATESIES brand mocked up on the inside of a black shirt. STATESIES is written out between to simple dots in a sans-serif Italic type, and underneath in small print is small text that says "(Things for Places)". Further down, among a striped background, there is text that reads "Greetings from Wherever". At the very bottom in extremely small text, the fifty states and their abbreviations are listed.

Anything catch your eye? 👀

From sparks of inspiration to full-blown business visions, we help turn ideas into reality. Drop us a line and let’s start making more cool things together.

Get in Touch
Copyright © 2026 Paper Pretzel
Privacy Policy
🌽❤️ Proudly based in Omaha, Nebraska