Currency
ART252- Image | Fall 2021
Project Statement:
For this assignment, we were asked to design or redesign currency for an entity that would have a need for such as system. Our currency had to have an overall theme that could be clearly seen throughout each of our three designed bills. We were also required to include anti-counterfeit elements and a decoder key for our bills. I chose to bring the Franc back to France and focus on the theme of art movements originating
in France.
Research:
Before beginning the design process, we read about real currency and the purpose common elements included on bills, such as serial numbers and anti-counterfeit details. I also examined existing currency from around the world to figure out which elements I felt worked well and what I would do differently. I also researched what art movements began in France and searched for the defining French artists of each period and some of their most famous works.
Design Process:
Before beginning any actual design, I played in Photoshop and Illustrator with different filter styles and graphic element effects. When I began designing my bills, I was pretty unsure of what style I wanted to push forward with, my two directions seen above. I finally decided that the style on the right was much more modern and cohesive of a design than the other. From here, I continued to create individual elements to be placed onto the bills. After building these up, I worked on isolating the painting elements seen on the front of the bills and editing the photos of the artists. Much of my work on this project was rearranging and slightly editing the elements I had built to create a composition that felt easy to look at and balanced but still interesting.
Final Solution:
In my final style direction, I decided to go with a more clean, modern looking background focused mostly on line work and shapes, allowing the paintings stand out more in contrast. I felt that this approach was perfect in representing French culture, which is so rich with history but still an innovative, future forward country.
