OUGD505: Studio Brief 1 - Brief Interpretation

OUGD505: Studio Brief 1/ Licence to print money   

Brief Interpretation 

Brief: 

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.

Brief Interpretation: 

Rivalling new technologies such as apple pay and contactless will always be a challenge when your generation is fixated on technological evolution and the next big thing, however with this surge of new technologies trying to standardise e-commerce it is important to remember the the tactile celebration of money. From the different sized coins weighted differently from country to country to the range of rich culture embedded within these designs that reflect cultural landmarks, figures and history. For me this is the real value of tactile printed money a celebration of culture. To me this is the only way printed money will survive this technical age viewed as a celebration of culture and patriotism that reflects a sense of national identity and reminds people of their shared history. 

I will consider this through the process of research and development to create a contextual resolution to the brief. The analogue nature of the final print adds to this celebration of culture taking away from digital technologies and creating a statement to appreciate the tactile nature of traditional printing. 

Research Plan: 

The scheduled exhibition trip will provide contextual research into the history of money which can be extended upon independently as well as researching these new technologies to obtain a holistic understanding of the origins, development and future of 'real' money. From this I can then start to source inspirations for potential design directions which can be researched and developed in more detail to create a range of project proposals that can be evaluated as part of peer feedback to identify the most approbate design direction to take in order to respond to the brief.