‘Honk if you like this sticker’
The personalities behind bumper stickers
Story and photos by Bodey Mitchell
Published April 7, 2026
Bumper stickers come in all different shapes and sizes and have an array of different designs, colors or messaging that can showcase personality. From bumper stickers filled with irony to political messaging or travel stickers, each bumper sticker is a puzzle piece placed from someone’s personality onto their car.
On average, Americans spend over 290 hours a year in their car. To some, a car may feel like a second home and a piece of themselves that they want to decorate. In the same way that people hang art on the walls of their home or curate playlists based on a mood, these stickers are a badge of identity for people and a way they can express themselves even in the smallest of ways.
Michelle Polo
When Polo started collecting stickers, she placed them on her bumper from left to right, with her most recent one being the butterfly sticker from the Victoria Butterfly Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia.
“Whenever I go to new places, I tend to want to buy something from a gift shop, but I can't justify it because I don't need junk or all this kind of stuff,” Polo said. “But I wanted some sort of memento, and I figured stickers would be really great on my car.”
For Polo, the stickers offer a way to remember where she has been while traveling on the road.
Polo believes bumper stickers are a look into who someone is.
“Usually, if I see some bumper stickers, I instantly assume something about the driver,” Polo said. Which I think is interesting because if you see somebody just driving their car, you don't know anything about this person, but I think it's a good insight into who someone is.”
Amber Andrews
Most of Andrews’ stickers have come from friends or family. Her Ween sticker was gifted to her from a friend, and Andrews stuck it on her car even though she doesn’t listen to the band. Although her favorite is the “Batdog” sticker, which she found by chance.
She feels that her stickers reflect her goofy personality.
“My car is very personalized,” Andrews said. “Inside, I have a lot of really silly things, so I feel like it just kind of represents that I like to have fun. Me and my friends, we joke around a lot, and I feel like it just reflects a silly personality.”
Owen Scheer
Scheer’s favorite stickers are from local skate shops of the cities he has lived in: Norse City Boardroom in Poulsbo, Wash., World Boards in Bozeman, Mont. and Unknown Boardshop in Bellingham, Wash.
“Most of them just came with other purchases,” Scheer said. “I'm big on supporting local skate shops and surf shops, so whenever I go there, I'll throw them an extra five bucks for some stickers and shit that ends up going on the car."