OUGD505 / STUDIO BRIEF 01 / HISTORY OF COINAGE

Money has been incorporated into human life in some form for around 3,000 years, and before this, it is assumed that bartering was the way to receive and sell goods and services, for example "if you help kill this animal for me, you can have this sword", this is most likely, if the person did not want to do this then the deal would have to be altered or forgotten.  The introduction of currency in society has helped to speed up this process.


In 1,000BC the Chinese stopped using the actual weapons etc to trade and created miniature versions of the goods with bronze which served to improve the efficiency of trading. The first actual minted coin was created in Lydia (Western Turkey).

The coins were made from electrum, a mixture of silver and gold that occurs naturally, and stamped with pictures that acted as denominations. This currency helped to increase the internal and external trade which in effect made it an extremely wealthy empire.

It was the Chinese who moved on from this to paper money,  and in the place of where the American bills say, "In God We Trust," the Chinese inscription warned, "All counterfeiters will be decapitated." Europeans still used coins until 1,600 

The shift to paper money in Europe increased the amount of international trade, banks and the bourgeoisie began buying currencies from other nations and created the first currency market. The stability of a particular monarchy or government affected the value of the country's currency and the ability for that country to trade on an increasingly international market. "The competition between countries often led to currency wars, where competing countries would try to affect the value of the competitor's currency by driving it up and making the enemy's goods too expensive, by driving it down and reducing the enemy's buying power (and ability to pay for a war), or by eliminating the currency completely."

Mobile payments and virtual currency was birthed in the 21st century. "A mobile payment is money rendered for a product or service through a portable electronic device such as a cell phone, smartphone or PDA." You can send money to family and friends easily through a digital device, making it a lot easier and quicker to exchange currencies than ever before.

"Bitcoin​, invented in 2009 by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto, became the gold standard--so to speak--for virtual currencies. Virtual currencies have no physical coinage. The appeal of virtual currency is it offers the promise of lower transaction fees than traditional online payment mechanisms and is operated by a decentralized authority, unlike government issued currencies."

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OUGD503 / STUDIO BRIEF 01 / SECRET 7 / FINAL SLEEVE SET

These sleeves work separarely, or as a set. However, I have submitted each of these designs into the competition in hopes that they can all be displayed. Each one communicates death in terms of falling asleep using symbols, literal photography and text. Black is the main colour as that is the colour associated with death.

OUGD505 / STUDIO BRIEF 01 / WHAT'S MONEY

The term "legal tender" is from Middle English tendren, French tendre (verb form), meaning to offer. The Latin root is tendere (to stretch out), and the sense of tender as an offer is related to the etymology of the English word "extend" (to hold outward). 

Legal tender is a format to remove public or private debt and finance, recognised and affirmed by the law. It consists of currency, bank notes and coin, and every country has a form of currency yet some share the same type, for example a lot of European companies exercise use of the Euro, yet only Great Britain uses the Pound Sterling. 

Exchange rates determine the amount of currency can be changed for use in another country, and this is not set in stone and can change over time due to inflation, an increase to the price of services or goods in an economy. For example for every £1, you get around €1.27 Euros.

OUGD503 / STUDIO BRIEF 01 / SECRET 7 SUBMISSION

OUGD505 / STUDIO BRIEF 01 / LIMITATIONS

PRINT

There is a limitation regarding printing techniques for this brief. Each of the final resolutions must be printed using analogue techniques, which could change what is suitable for the design of the banknote. Realistic imagery would be difficult to reproduce without digital print methods, screen printing may not replicate the detail in the image accordingly, meaning the design is ultimately hindered. It is important to take into consideration that certain printing techniques may also need to be practiced in order to achieve the best result. 

TECHNIQUE

As for technique, this will have to be explored during development. Will the design be hand drawn or vectorised? A limitation regarding hand drawn illustration could be the time frame to complete the brief. As I am basing my concept around Astrology, there are 12 signs that should be included in the banknotes, therefore the drawings would have to be completed in time, whether they are hand drawn onto the bank notes themselves, or printed via another analogue technique. 

SIZE

The size of the notes or coins is important as they will eventually be displayed in an exhibition. The paper size for completed work will be 21cm x 26cm with banknote designs displayed landscape. It will be important to fit the notes and/or coins (or whatever currency is chosen), onto this size resolution.

OUGD505 / STUDIO BRIEF 01 / PRIMARY RESEARCH / SHOW ME THE MONEY

We attended the exhibition Show Me The Money in the People's history museum, showcasing a variety of different currencies from around the globe, exhibiting art work that demonstrates currency's importance and even control on our societies.

 

Seeing examples of real money affirmed my schema of how money should look. There is almost always an element of history featured on currency, or a very important and influencial person. As can be seen by these examples, money is almost always presented in a certain way, with a lot of corresponding details. The detail on money communicates a sense of luxury and wealth which is of course ultimately what money is. The portrait of an important person is there to pay homage to whatever that person achieved, and to possibly remind the individual of great moments in history, related to their country.

It is also interesting to note how currency changes, for example the British bank notes range from 5 - 50 pounds, whereas in America, a dollar has its bank note.

The exhibition was also interactive, with an area where the audience can 'dress up' as a banker or broker. The idea behind this from my own assumptions is to demonstrate the effects money can have on the quality and quantity of material goods such as clothes. It is definitely an engaging way to get people talking and thinking. 

This area of the exhibition contained a carpet of lottery tickets, demonstrating our society's participation in placing a prediction on a set of balls with numbers on, just for a taste of the fantasy world of wealth and luxury. All the while the odds are very low to win, meaning these lottery tickets now all represent loss and 'squandered dreams'.

This was highly engaging as it was quite a unique part of the exhibition, and got me thinking.

The exhibition was overall very exciting and engaging in places, some more than others. It has shown that bank notes all take a very similar stance on the aesthetic choices which is something I want to gear away from in order to keep up with our contemporary society. The idea of using important men and women would seem too similar to existing bank notes, and I would prefer to try and think differently and produce something unique for the project.

OUGD505 / STUDIO BRIEF 01 / RESEARCH

  

Dowling Duncan

These designs were part of The Dollar Rede$ign Project, launched by Richard Smith, a creative strategy consultant. This set included Barack Obama, shown on the front of the $1 bill, which was seen as a controversial design decision, conveying Obama as the least valuable symbol of America. Others included cultural themes such as tipis, referring to America's roots, themes of science, which represent breakthroughs that have been made from research and intelligence. Another example is the greatest symbol of America; the American eagle, which is placed onto the $50 bill; essentially communicating the pride and value of America.

The way that these units were design was bold, vivid colours with swiss graphic design influences, conveyed through the use of Helvetica and left alignment, however they have an artistic feel through use of line illustrations, which add a pattern, when printed these could have a print finish such as foiling or varnish, creating extra texture. 

 

 

Vaka Valo

Vaka Valo took an interesting route when designing (or defacing) these units of money. Each shows the faces of famous and important people with an anaglyph effect, alongside bold messy illustration over the top of the faces which obstruct them. These images could be seen as disrespectful, or artistic, these designs are very subjective. However interesting, they don't seem to be designs of actual currency, more artistic expressions. Inspiration can be taken from these regardless, as the anaglyph effect could be achieved by screen printing. 

Barbara Bernát

Link

This banknote series is titled the Hungarian Euro, created by Barbara Bernát. There are two sides to this note, one side shows traditional european animals, the other side features plants. The main focus with these is the essential elements to a bank note, also eliminating distraction from the beautiful variety of illustrations. The natural illustrations represent growth of value, as shown through the energetic stances of the animals alongside the blooming plants. The colours have an organic feel to them, which could be representative of the source of money, which is obviously trees and natural sources.

OUGD505 / STUDIO BRIEF 01 / LICENCE TO PRINT MONEY / BRIEF

Brief title: 'Licence to Print Money'

In an age of Apple Pay, Bitcoin, contactless, Paypal and other options for the transferring of funds, is there a future for "real" money?

Undertake research into the development of coinage and banknotes while also exploring the cultural understandings of legal tender. Following this initial engagement (including the research trip to the People's History Museum's Show Me The Money exhibition), begin a more developed interrogation of financial transactions in order to complete your own proposal for the future of the banknote.

Your proposed banknote design should be presented as a finished print that makes use of any of the varied analogue print processes available within the college's workshops. Submissions should additionally be created using a minimum of two colours/finishes. Paper size for completed work will be 21cm x 26cm with banknote designs displayed landscape. (The size of the actual banknotes are to be determined by the student when based on their design rationale. It is up to the student whether they choose to display one or two sides of a banknote on the print.) 

Each 21cm x 26cm print is to be submitted by 21st April 2016 for inclusion in a Level 4 and Level 5 group show that will run in May 2016.

Please note, finished prints for this brief are not digital prints.

Analysis

This brief limits the designer in ways regarding printing, as the final resolution must be printed using analogue print processes. However, this will also open up new methods to the designer, that may not have been explored before, such as using more colours during screen printing, foiling, embossing and letter pressing. My own experiences with analogue techniques has been minimal, therefore I feel this will be an excellent opportunity to really experiment and go forward with this brief by trying out new methods I have not previously used in other briefs.

The brief will also entail detailed research which will inevitably inform my design decisions and development. This should be done thoroughly, ensuring all aspects of the brief are researched indepthly and considered. 

It will also be important to consider the format this brief will be displayed in the exhibition, and ensuring that this will not hinder my design will be important. It must be clearly displayed.  

OUGD503 / STUDIO BRIEF 01 / D&AD / INITIAL DIGITAL IDEAS

After creating initial ideas on paper and generating potential logos, these ideas were then taken onto illustrator, to visualise them digitally and evaluate how effective each one is. 

Starting off with the chosen brand name of "Cell", a variety of typefaces were tried out, including Bookmania in uppercase/lowercase, GT Cinetype, Akkurat and Apercu in uppercase/lowercase. This selection was varied and allowed me to view sans serif, serif and monotype. Bookmania is a strong serif which also features fragile elements, creating an effective juxtaposition between masculinity and femininity; which is exceptionally important for this brief. Cinetype communicated electronic semantics, as monotype is usually a typeface used for raw data, and was not suitable for a beauty brand. Due to the element of science that will be incorporated into the brand, it is important to include this in some way. Akkurat was a clean, legible typeface that conveyed a modern aesthetic, however, similarly to Apercu, it did not communicate a high end feel like Bookmania. 

As for icons, I took the literal idea of a skin cell and produced various different experiments with this in mind. 

I refined the biological skin cell idea, which digitally looked much more appealing and clean. The patterns add a trendy vibe. I am unsure if the consumer would be aware that this shape represents a classic skin cell diagram, however the aim was to be influenced by this and keep my version stylised. I also tried a isometric angle which I simplified, which also works but may not communicate my brand as effectively as desired.

I took the idea using three of the cell shapes, and positioned them closer together to communicate unity, and the way in which skin is held closely together. However, this could also be seen as a hive shape, relating to bees; which has no relevance.

The hexagonal shape on it's own is effective as it makes a statement, the shape represents skin essentially, however the shape on its own could be too simplistic, and may have been used on a lot of other brands.

The other angle I had experimented with during sketching was the idea of someone breaking out of a cell, escaping gender stereotypes. In order to convey this, I used three bars. This idea could have negative connotations regarding prison, the lines used to communicate the cell do not convey freedom as I had originally attempted, and only really represent being confined. Therefore, this idea is not as sound as the others.

After conducting experiments digitally, it is apparent that the molecular icon is the most effective, communicating the unity of science with beauty, and representing a raw human element.

OUGD503 / STUDIO BRIEF 01 / D&AD / SKETCHES

Initially, to generate ideas I had in my head, I began to create rough sketches that will eventually be developed digitally. All these ideas included ideas surrounding the skin, the structure of skin, or the definition of Cell. 

The first idea was a simplistic line drawing of a 'cell-like' shape which also looked like an element of a molecular structure. This idea appears to look professional and scientific, which may appear trustworthy and as though the brand has engaged in a lot of research for their ingredients. It could also look very clean. 

I also experimented with using this shape as a three, but the number lacked relevance.

The second idea was inspired by the actual biological diagram of a skin cell, showing the layers within the cuboid.

However, in order for it to look more appealing, I stylised it with geometric lines and shapes, making the shape more contemporary and aesthetically pleasing if it was to be developed digitally. The semiotics behind this idea are again scientific and exceptionally biological. I would have to work out a way of making this idea more commercialised, to fit in with other brands on the market.

Taking this same literal idea futher, I sketched out fun little diagrams of skin cells, which appeared to look like bacteria, or living cells. Since my aim is to look luxurious and 'high fashion', these ideas would not be as suitable as they appear quirky and 'cute'. 

Another idea which takes a different angle on the definition of Cell, was to imagine it in the term regarding a prison cell, and the idea behind this was that the audience of men and women would be freeing themselves from gender stereotypes, and breaking out of those ideas. I sketched 3 lines to represent the prison cell, which could be developed further digitally.

OUGD503 / STUDIO BRIEF 01 / SECRET 7 / DEVELOPMENT

By using the images taken at the cemetary, I began to explore ideas digitally from previous sketches and initial ideas. 

The first set includes images from the cemetary simply in black and white. Black and white has a classic, gothic feel especially due to the nature of the imagery here. The concept is, fundamentally, death and the themes that surround this end of life. The dark nature of the photographs communicates the harsh reality that everyone's life will inevitably come to an end. 

The second visual idea that I came up with was a linework coffin, made contemporary by using only the outline and using vector. This symbol is iconic in relation to death as it is many people's final destination. I experimented with various different colour schemes to see which was the most effective and stood out most - Since secret 7 includes around 700 other vinyls, it's important for the entry to pop out, and if it got chosen, to really stand out on the shelf amongst the others.

I felt this achieved what I wanted, the bold lines and simplistic shape is honest and clear.

I also chose to try using only typography for one of my ideas, again taking the idea of 'sleeping' as the literal term of death. I used the dictionary definition of 'sleep' in this context, and this was the only element on the layout, making it the main focus. Experimenting with different alignments was beneficial to see which was the most successful. The text positioned in the lower left framed the shape of the vinyl sleeve well, however the central alignment is more focused and the audience would be focused on the text easily.

OUGD503 / STUDIO BRIEF 01 / SECRET 7 / PHOTOGRAPHY

The concept of this brief in relation to Dream 3, is 'death', or the act of permanent sleep. In order to gather appropriate images which capture this concept, I visited the Armley Cemetary in Leeds and searched for impactful scenes which could be great visually for Secret 7.

These included images of an eerie nature, including a church and many different variations of graves. 

I noticed some graves had fallen down due to weather or defacement, and found them incredibly powerful as graves are supposed to be a strong statement of life that is preserved. It is easy to imagine this image on the front of a vinyl, as a statement with connotations of how eventually you can be forgotten. 

Other images were taken out of focus on purpose, this was a way of creating a different composition and depth, representing the blurred lines between life and death. 

A lot of the images speak for themselves and simply involve variations of gravestones. I will now take these images and manipulate them to fit the brief.