The Currency Project
In this project there are a few design styles shown, combined they achieve a final look of modern and old world feel. Bringing a twist on Art Nouveau style combined with hand-drawn watercolor images, with the use of photography the New Euro Concept is clean colorful and delightful to the eye. The computer aspect of this project was suppose to be minimal and also not clearly visible to the naked eye.
The Art Nouveau style boarder on the top of all three banknotes is to help distinguish which denomination of the banknote. When these bank notes are stacked together they expose the underneath note showing the boarder. The boarder also identifies the theme of the banknote. The 50 Euro banknote is wheat, the 20 euro banknote lemons and daggers, and the 100 euro banknote has the composition of an antenna tower with the wings of hermes.
Project thesis: How to showcase the process of mythology becoming reality through technology in Italy.
20 Euro Banknote: The front side of the banknote has a hand drawn picture of the Love Goddess – Hera holding a dagger on one hand and a heart on the other. On the back is a hand drawn picture of two ceramic heads. Legend has it that a Sicilian Princess cut off an Arab Prince’s Head after he seduced her into a love affair of two years. She found out that he had a family of his own back in his land. Out of the craziness of love and anger she cut off his head and persevered it in a glass jar with lemons. The city of Caltagirone makes ceramic heads to keep this myth alive.
50 Euro Banknote: Front side is a hand drawn image of the Agriculture Goddess Ceres with a wheat field in the background. On the reverse side is the first Roman wheat water mill that is still working till this day. Ever since the invention of water mills it has been easier and faster for the production of flour from wheat.
100 Euro Banknote: On the front side is the messenger god Hermes holding a message with an up close faded background made up of feathers. On the backside is a hand drawn picture of the telegraph machine made by Marconi with the mid-Atlantic ocean and USA/Europe. This was the first time in history people from the USA and Europe could communicate without having to wait for hand written letters.