Dollar ReDe$ign Project |
It's Time to ReBrand the Buck |
The Riksbank is Sweden's central bank and an authority under the Riksdag, the Swedish parliament. Recently they ran an open competition for redesigning the Swedish currency, the Kronor. The winner can be seen here and below.
America, it's time to wake up and smell the meatballs.
Canada's decision to stop producing its penny has launched a discussion in the U.S. In Canada, it costs 1.6 cents to produce a penny — so getting rid of the coin will save the country an estimated 11 million Canadian dollars a year. Meanwhile, in the United States it costs 2.4 cents to make a penny. Would frugal Abraham Lincoln approve? Richard Smith is the creative director at Sullivan, a New York brand engagement firm, and the president of the Dollar ReDe$ign Project.
Recent New York Times debate that asked the $.R.P. "how can we improve the US currency?" Below is the article in full. View orginal at nytimes.com
Yet, rather than celebrating our many achievements, the government has continued to cling to a small fraction of what makes America great. We should, in fact, be using the design of our currency to paint a more realistic picture of who we are. Design could also be the means to rejuvenate our economy and rebuild our global influence. It worked for Apple, so why wouldn’t it work for America too?
Here are five areas for improvement:
1. Size It’s novel that each bill is the same size, but really it’s such a simplistic idea it makes our currency look like it was created by a group of Luddites.
2. Color You could argue the term “greenback” is part of American culture, but that’s not significant enough when you consider using one color not only impairs recognition for the sighted, but also paints a single-minded picture of America’s philosophy.
3. Functionality It’s absolutely imperative that our currency includes the latest security features. That’s a given. But why not also include additional features to make it easier for the visually impaired to distinguish each note?
4. Composition America is one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world, so why aren’t we using a material that’s as technologically advanced as we are, something synthetic like plastic?
5. Symbolism We should use the design of our currency as a means to celebrate multiple aspects of what makes the U.S. great. We live in a culturally rich and vibrant country that is idolized all over the world for what it represents, so we should use our currency as a vehicle to “advertise” all that we are. Not just a few dead presidents.
^^Natasha Alcantra
^^Brendan Ffitch
^^Patrick Lee
^^Zach Lehmen
^^Karl Turner
^^Erik Sterpa
The UK's Guardian newspaper recently invited artists and writers to "invent new currencies and banknotes for a changed world." Submissions include work by Stephen Barnwell, Jonathan Franzen, Margaret Atwood, Naomi Klein and Tracey Emin. View more
via The Guardian
"When re-designing the dollar bill I went for a simplistic yet colorful approach. I made the background white with colored numbers to assist the visually impaired. I decided to go with the theme of famous United States landmarks from different cities. The stripes would act as a security ribbon to prevent counterfeiting."
"I chose to redesign the one hundred, fifty, and twenty dollar bills of the U.S. currency. In my designs I started with choosing a character for each of the bills in order of importance to modern day culture. So Eminem is more important than Tupac therefor he is on the 100. Once I Chose a character for the front of the bill I decided to use the corresponding city that each one of these icons are from for the back. Next I chose a color pallet for each different bill. I also decided to make the size of the bills 2.61" x 5.14". I used a fractal brush for the background of the bills that would be printed in a metallic ink to prevent counterfeiting. Another method I used to prevent counterfeiting was placing a watermark seal on the top left of the front of each note. To help the visually impaired i placed braille on the front of each bill and also made the colors for each bill bright and different from each other so that one could separate the bills by color alone."
"For my money redesign, I chose to do people who have stood up for people rights, wether they be civil or women's. I chose John F. Kennedy for my one dollar bill. He stood up for civil rights along with Martin Luther King Jr., at his high position of our President. Martin Luther King Jr. graces the five dollar bill. He has become the national icon for civil rights movements, and claiming the bill held by Abraham Lincoln is fitting. I have Susan B. Anthony on my ten dollar bill. She has fought for women's right and helped to introduce women's suffrage in the US. I believe these three people have made a very large impact on our world and society as we know it today. I have also placed the corresponding memorials on the back of the bills. The small number in the upper left hand corner on the face of each of the bills would be a hologram or a metallic type ink to help thwart counterfeiters."
