The People on the $20 Bill

Here are Stacy’s thoughts on their work…

“I would say that we tried to represent the primacy of the people by making them a central part of each bill.  The picture of people on the Mall, the “faceless” people as the foundation of the building.  We were very focused on the visual and symbolic representation of the people.  The interactive idea of the bill was in keeping with the times.  We actually had a discussion about paper bills becoming obsolete and that people normally pay using plastic.  (I haven’t written a check in five years–Germans don’t do that.)  So we did discuss the relevancy of the bills in those terms.  Like Christina said, people look at the quarters because there is a reason to.  They’re new and have something to represent each state on them.  We figured that since people are excited about seeing themselves (and like to see famous people–just take a stroll down Hollywood Blvd to validate that idea) combining regular people with historical figures, celebrities, and then possibly current citizens–via the web–would be interactive… The Internet is not going away–might as well maximize it.”

Flip side of $20 bill

The interactive idea included in this scheme allows citizens to submit their own photo via the web. The image of people on the mall in Washington would then include celebrities as well as a selection of the photos submitted online via a proposed website, article1section8.gov. The team imagined this might create as much interest in the new currency as there has been in the new quarters issued in recent years. Other topics of debate for this group included how to represent Federalist and Antifederalist paradigms, how to incorporate the Preamble of the Constitution and how to best include the three branches of government. While Stacy decided to leave these topics to her colleagues to discuss with us as they have time, she pointed to a question for further consideration… what problems might emerge from this scheme?

Michael Bierut, a designer writing for The Atlantic, suggested the design of U.S. currency is something we should all consider. Noting that the first dollar bill issued in 1862 was an “exuberant affair, designed to resemble a formal certificate,” Bierut suggests the back of the current dollar bill looks like “a cake that has been decorated within an inch of its life.” While Beirut had principles of good design in mind rather

The $10 Bill

than constitutional principles, some of the ideas submitted for the Dollar ReDe$sign Project suggest there is an opportunity to communicate more about who we are through our currency.

The By Design blog on the NY Times capitalized on these efforts and proposed the road to economic recovery might lie in economic redesign–not just our currency but all that paperwork for your new mortgage and the explanation of benefits from your healthcare provider. Allison Arieff wants us to consider, “good design can make the nonsensical beautiful. But more importantly, it can make what seems to be nonsense… clear.”

If there is an opportunity to make certain principles more clear through the design of our currency, what do you think should be there?

Flip Side of $10 Bill