Licence to Print Money 1.1

Physical currency takes the form of coins and notes because they are easy to carry around and are convenient. Notes have been the same shape and size for many years, across a lot of different currencies, however each one has different visual content. I aim to explore what the subject and content is and why it is appropriate. 

GBP
Pound sterling

The first sterling notes were printed by The Bank of England in 1694. 

Since then, the composition of the note has changed to increase security and also reflect the culture that the currency is used in. The subject on the Great British Pound is Monarchy, currently Queen Elizabeth because she is a symbol of Britain.

On the reverse of the note is Charles Darwin, a historical character that has been chosen because of his research and exploration on the HMS Beagle - Shown as an illustration on the note.

Below is a list of all banknotes withdrawn from circulation since 1988 that shows what characters have been on the banknote:

Conclusive evidence that the GBP uses monarchy and influential people as the face of the banknote.

Design Features:

Denomination Numeral - There is a large number 10 and £ symbol in the top left corner on the front of the note to assist easy recognition of its value.

Recognition symbol - For the partially sighted, the £10 note has a densely coloured orange diamond on the front:

Unique Numbering - A unique number is printed horizontally and vertically on the front of the £10 note. The horizontal number is in the top left corner and consists of multi-coloured letters and numbers, increasing in height from left to right. The vertical number runs down the right side and has letters and numbers that are the same height and colour.

Historical character - Charles Darwin (1809-1882).
As a young man Darwin was employed as the naturalist on board the ship HMS Beagle an illustration of which is depicted on the back of the note. Also pictured is an illustration of Darwin 's own magnifying lens and the flora and fauna that he may have come across on his travels.

Security Features:

I didn't know that the majority of these security elements existed on the bank note and I am going to transfer some visual techniques into some potential concepts. As a response to these findings, I can use the visual security techniques as inspiration for visual concepts, for example:

• Microlettering - includes type but also allows opportunity to be expressive and playful with the design - Potential to explore typesetting and concrete poetry. 

• The metallic thread can be replaced with foiling if I decide to transfer these textures into my design. 

• If it is appropriate, I would like to emboss the stock to produce a similar result to adding a hologram and will make my currency tactile. 

Using images of influential people is a useful technique for making the currency recognisable around the world because people make associations to where that 'character' is from. I have noticed a lot of sources use the lexis 'character' to describe the person on the face of the banknote which I can take literally to create my own.

Other examples of currency from around the world:

Swiss Franc

The new Swiss banknote was released in 2005 and was open as a competition. Krebs Manuel won the competition, however due to public resistance it was rejected and Pfrunder Manuela's compositions were chosen

However, her designs were only drafts and they were changed considerably for security reasons and weren't revealed till very close to the final release:

The banknote is predominantly pink so that it is easily and quickly interpreted by the owner as a 20 without them needing to read it. There is a lack of imagery in comparison to text as only the key, relevant information is printed to avoid making the note too busy. Again, the character takes up the majority of the composition, especially because it is rotated to take up a lot of the available space. 

Nepalese Rupee

In 2007 (and 2012), Nepal began to issue currency in which the traditional leader’s portrait was replaced by Mount Everest. This is a mirror of the political change from Kingdom to Republic, which happened in 2008.

Previous:

Current:

Shows how much money can be influenced by politics. The textured visuals make the note tactile and also add security, especially the image of Mount Everest because of the red tone and opacity. 

Security

Noticed security is an important factor to consider when producing the design for a currency. Currency needs to be unique so that it is hard for criminals to replicate it and cause fraud. However, I am designing a currency for an exhibition so I can be more conceptual with my outcome as it doesn't have to work in real life. 


Catherine Eagleton and Jonathan Williams - MONEY (A HISTORY)
2007

The publication was filled with detailed information on the history of money, specifically its form and function of money from Pre 500 BC to 2000. Looking at the form and function allows me to explore the techniques that were used to create money and see how it evolved. This will help me explore deeper concepts and visual elements.

Below is a coin tree from the early twentieth century. The Chinese used this to cast brass coins in the flowered shape moulds. Once cooled the brass coins could be snapped off and filed down to remove any trace of the gullies. 

Picked this from the book because it has potential to inspire patterns on currency. This is typical on a lot of banknotes as it makes them visually stimulating but also adds security because it's hard to replicate. 

If a currency is going to be established, it needs to be efficient and portable. In 1975, Papua New Guinea created a coin that had a hole in it so rural people could carry their coins using string:

This is a useful solution as it minimises the risk of loosing coins and is appropriate for the area where it will be used. I need to consider how the currency will be used and stored for the convenience of the owner.  

Mexican dollar adapted to perform the traditional role of silver as a wedding gift. The red letter on the coin stands for 'double happiness'. 

Make money more personal so that people see it as a gift/token. This would make people appreciate and respect money and could also lead to a predominantly visual outcome.  

Paying With Plastic 

Using plastic is an older payment method than I thought - 1918

Found Catherine Eagleton and Jonathan Williams' book really useful for researching deeper into the history of money. Looking into coinage has given me more knowledge about practicality and visual inspiration.

Koos Jansen  - 'The Concept Of Money And The Money Illusion'

I was intrigued by the title of the article and found some interesting facts and opinions which can help influence my concepts.

• 'What we use as money is a social contract to be used in trade and to store value, always based on trust.'

• Supreme Court in 1848 ruled: 'Money, when paid into a bank, ceases altogether to be the money of the principal; it is then the money of the banker, who is bound to an equivalent by paying a similar sum to that deposited with him when he is asked for it.'

The term 'money is no object' can be taken literally in these circumstances.

• 'The lion share of their money only exists in their minds. This is what I call the money illusion, in which most of us on this planet are submerged.'

Could play on the concept of illusions which will provide a lot of opportunity to look into optical illusions for my analogue outcome. 

Jansen's article has made me look at the concept of money from a different angle particularly because of his views on banking making money into an illusion. This has inspired a broad range of concepts that I feel have scope to take forward and be appropriate for an exhibition piece.

Katy Siegel and Paul Mattick - MONEY (Art Works)
Thames & Hudson 
2004

The publication argues why artists today are so interested in money and deal with it in there art. There are a lot of quotes from famous artists and examples of work that are relevant for the subject:

• 'Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art' - Andy Warhol

• Argues that some famous artists don't produce the work themselves so all of the money shouldn't be named under that one artist.

• Dave Muller makes art about art - Specifically its social connections of mutual friendship and interest that make up the art world.

Muller has converted art into the earliest form of currency; bargaining. Looking at the money in art is an interesting topic because its value is often way more than its production costs or time spent making it. It has its own specific economy.

French Playing Card Money

In 1685, the French government was late in sending the payroll to its military outpost in present-day Canada. The soldiers were supposed to be paid in silver coins known as livres (pronounced “leaves”). With buyers unable to buy, and sellers unable to sell, the local economy experienced what we would nowadays call a recession. 

The intendant of the camp, Jacques De Muelles, devised a brilliantly simple solution to the problem: He paid the soldiers with paper IOU’s. One problem was that suitable paper was hard to find on the Canadian frontier, so he procured sets of playing cards and cut them in quarters. On each quarter he might write “IOU 1 livre”. He then announced that these IOU’s would be redeemable in silver livres as soon as the payroll ship arrived. 

The details of this episode are lost to history, but it appears that the paper livres greatly stimulated business. It is easy to see why. Paper money is far more convenient than coins, barter, or credit. When it was introduced into an economy that relied mostly on barter, the improvement in the efficiency of trade, and of borrowing and lending, would have been enormous.

On the back of the card states: '... For the sum of 50 pounds ...'

Using cards as currency is an interesting concept because they feature characters such as the Jack, Queen and King, similar to the characters that feature on modern currency. The layout of cards is also very consistent as the numerical value is always in the corners with the suit. This will make my currency transferable over other numerical values £5, £10, £15, £20, etc. 

 If I was to take this concept further I could research into playing cards and symbols that feature in a set and create my own currency.