OUGD505 - Studio Brief 1 - Licence to Print Money Briefing

THE BRIEF: '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.

Once I heard the brief and we went on the trip to Manchester I knew immediately that I wanted to do the Japanese Yen. Initially I thought that I could have a look at Japanese wood block prints and replicate these textures with linocuts or screen prints. Yet the brief states about the future of banknotes so I decided to look a bit more into the history of money itself and the Japanese culture of money to see whether a bank note would be appropriate in this day and age. 

The History of Money

The concept of money dates back to the beginning of civilization. The Israeli currency, the shekel, was originally a measure of weight (11 grams) and each shekel coin originally corresponded to that amount of silver. Coins were stamped to certify that they contained the required weight, infusing transactions, even among strangers, with an element of trust.

It’s easy to see how money caught on. It was a much more efficient way to transact business than bartering one good for another. Money was also a useful store of wealth, certainly more convenient than livestock or grains. These two core functions—a medium of exchange and a store of value—still define money today.

The nature of money changed after the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944, when most countries tied the value of their currencies to the US dollar, rather than to gold or silver. When the US went off the gold standard in 1971, all currencies essential became fiat moneys, with their value derived from the governments that issue them rather than from commodities.

The Future of Money

“Even though we’re using credit and debit cards more than ever, people still have cash in their wallet,” says chief executive Martin Sutherland of De La Rue is the company which produces the £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes for the Bank of England “It’s convenient, it’s free at point of use, classless – not everyone has a bank account - and most of all, it’s reliable... Cash is the payment mechanism of last resort, it will still work when there’s a power cut or the card reader won’t scan.”

“We are generally seen as the leading designer of banknotes and passports but we have to be innovative about the security features we introduce because we are in an arms race with counterfeiters,” he says. “The longer a particular feature is in circulation, the more time they have to work out how it is done and how to reproduce it, so we have to be constantly introducing new ideas. We’re a counter-counterfeiting business.”

As well as “covert” security measures known only to central banks and De La Rue itself, there are more obvious features, such as the silver foil running through notes, holograms and ultraviolet inks.

Sutherland highlights a recent introduction called “active”, a visual affect where depending on how you view a note, it shows a different colour. “Think of it as an animation,” says the chief executive, who flatly refuses to even hint at what direction “covert” measures take in the future.

So here Sutherland suggests that banknotes and legal tender are the only thing that stops counterfeiters and thieves from stealing money. In this day and age we are constantly warned by the dangers of identity fraud and hackers where we could easily loose large amounts of money in the blink of an eye. Yet a couple of notes in your purse or wallet are safe while you hold them, immune to the effects of the advancing digital age.

References:

http://www.delarue.com/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/industry/12061880/Cash-is-king-for-the-future-says-UK-banknote-printer-De-La-Rue.html

http://www.forbes.com/sites/gregsatell/2014/11/08/the-future-of-money/#7493fe1f3324