Kristin Becker's DTC Classes at WSU

A 50000 Lao Kip banknote. Found on robertsworldmoney.com

For this blog I chose an 50000 Lao Kip banknote. From what I’ve seen I haven’t come across a single type of currency that I didn’t like. Both because of the design and it’s money. I think one of the most important parts in designing paper money is the detail that goes into it. The more detailed it is the harder it’s probably going to be to recreate/counterfeit it. It also gives it more character. There’s a hexagon pattern over the watermark on the back of the Kip that is very subtle. It’s my favorite part even though it’s probably the least noticeable characteristic of the note. Money should be designed to have relevant and recognizable features that relate to the area. It wouldn’t make sense to put JFK on a Euro.
As I was looking for banknotes online and trying to pick one I was getting frustrated because I couldn’t decide if I would keep or save all the ones I saw. I decided to pick the 50000 Lao Kip because I found one in a parking lot about five to six years ago, and I saved it! That answered that question. Although, I think if I came across most money I’d be tempted to spend it if I was at a place that accepted it. If I ever go to Laos I’ll take my 50000 Kip.

Japanese 5 Yen Bill from 1946

Prior to reading the article “Do you have change for a Bowie”, I had no idea that there were forms of currency based on art. What visually struck me the most was the intial photo of the bill with psychedelic artwork and geometrical shapes/patterns that were present in the piece. The colors were visually stunning and blended in together nicely. After viewing this, I wanted to find a piece that had a similiar feel, but perhaps from a less modern era to see how artistic currency looked in the past and how it has evolved today. For this post, I chose a Japanese 5 Yen Bill from 1946. One of the reasons I chose this currency was because I am familiar with the japanese yen and also, it fit my timeline of trying to find a piece that was significantly older than the ones featured in the article. What is amazing is that the symmetry and geometry in this Japanese bill is extremely similiar to the modern psychedelic one. You can see the lines weaving in and out of one another forming shapes and are perfectly symmetrical. It is incredible to see the similiarities in these art pieces given that they are from different parts of the worlds from different eras. I believe that symmetry has a huge role to play in the creation of currency. The eye must be drawn to different elements across the piece (such as the corners/sides for the number amount, the middle for a face or logo). All these pieces of artistic data must be shown but also balanced to provide a wholistic and complete feel to the currency. In this Japanese yen bill, you can see the symmetry layed out with the number 5 on each side to signify its worth, the center text balances the numbers out. Then, the beautiful geometric pattern completes the piece by joining everything together. The look is simplistic and beautiful. The psychedelic piece featured in “Do you have change for a Bowie” is so ver different, yet similiar to this piece and I love that and find it to be absolutely fascinating.

After reading Do You Have Change for a Bowie I instantly remembered the currency from Costa Rica. This summer I studied abroad and I was basically forced to use their currency for a whole month. This was a bit different because I am so used to using plastic, it’s so much easier. At first it was a drag to use it because I didn’t quite understand it. However I though it was the cutest money I had ever seen. The designs are so colorful and they embody their vibrant happy culture perfectly. It made me feel like I was a part of their culture whenever I made a transaction.

However the more specific design I thought about was their 5 colones bill that is now a design they produce only to sale as souvenirs. I have to say that the design made me feel like it had so much history which makes me want to keep the bill framed. Like the article state, “the idea of creating a currency that has our landscape and has our values right on the bill, that’s creating a sense of place that we don’t always have in America,” this is something I found to be true while using the currency in Costa Rica. I think this is one of the more important design decisions that should go into creating paper money because it is something we interact with.

This link has an example to 50 colones which is about $100:

http://moon.com/2012/11/costa-rica-retires-old-money-for-new-spend-now/
This is a link to the bill that used to be the 5 colones:

http://costa-rica-guide.com/practical/budget/how-much-to-tip/

Ten dollar bill from Hong Kong. Foreign Currency Analysis Today.

If I ever received this bill as cash back I would save it forever! The colors that are prominent within the note are two of my favorite color combinations. It reminds me of 80s style of computer graphics. There are two new video games that take that style of neon colors blended together and that’s Hot line Miami and Far Cry Blood dragon.

I am really fond of the games and the art style that they take. I feel that the note also gives a really unique fell of the city as well. Hong Kong in the 80’s and right now for that matter still have hundreds and hundreds of  neon shop signs littering all of the streets. It has the retro feel. Also I would like to tie neon lights to the line work with in the note as well there are lots of curved colored lines just as if it was a sing in the city. The geometric shapes also help take a step back and see the complexity within all the shapes as well as the negative space. There is a lot going on within the small note partially the spiral in the top center of the bill both front and back.  I could not find anything if it is a representation of anything in particular. Within the spiral there are different colored arms and the hatching are of different directions which gives a realistic feel to the note. I wish I could handle the note so I could feel if it was indented or raised with in the note itself.

http://cargocollective.com/alectear/Typographic-Postcards

The visual example primarily consists of typographic elements as well as positive and negative space. This picture strongly emphasizes negative space to highlight the positive space which is the type. There is just enough positive space (black) that the reader can make out what the type says, which is a very unique style of displaying type. When it comes to cropping and framing, this picture is pretty self-explanatory, the type and positive space are centered in the middle of the picture which brings the readers eye right to it. This picture does not quite emphasize balance because of the overwhelming negative space, but it does give it a unique character because in most typographic pieces the positive space (type) is what is highlighted, in this case it is the opposite.