Do you think the dollar bill should be redesigned?
Me neither. But there are folks who feel it should be, and they feel pretty strongly. And they’re working up samples to be talking points.
They sure created a talking point with this one:
Whoa! Can we see that larger and turned vertically, please?
Very interesting. Very clean and modern. Other than the choice of the current president as the featured portrait — good luck pushing that though Congress — this could be an interesting approach.
That bill was designed by the Dowling Duncan design studio, which has offices in San Francisco and Newark, England. The occasion is an annual contest called the Dollar ReDe$sign Project that’s advocating a redesign of U.S. paper currency to make it more, um, current. They write on their web site:
We want to rebrand the US Dollar, rebuild financial confidence and revive our failing economy.
Ah. They want to solve a decidedly non-design-related problem with design. Good luck with that.
Anyway, it’s still an interesting thought exercise.
The design firm created a whole set of bills, coded by color and size (click for a larger view):
The folks at Dowling Duncan write:
We wanted a concept behind the imagery so that the image directly relates to the value of each note. We also wanted the notes to be educational, not only for those living in America but visitors as well. Each note uses a black and white image depicting a particular aspect of American history and culture. They are then overprinted with informational graphics or a pattern relating to that particular image.
Why go vertical with the bills? Because people actually use their money vertically, the firm argues:
And, as you can see, the different sizes make it awfully easy to sort the bills in your wallet. Smart thinking. I think.
I see no reason at all for the government to change the design of our money. They’ve changed it way too much, in my opinion, and for poor reasons. (To defeat counterfeiting? Have all the changes been effective doing that? I didn’t think so.)
But if they did want to make major changes, this might want to be something to explore. Interesting stuff.
The folks at the Dollar ReDe$ign Project get all sort of feedback when the entries go viral, as you might imagine. This particular entry got a lot of attention from Time magazine, Gawker, AdWeek and from Jim Cramer.
But it’s just one of several entries. A few others:
Find the Dollar ReDe$ign Project here. See Dowling Duncan’s entire entry here.
Thanks to the awesome Bridget O’Donnell for the tip.
The real question is whether we should have dollar coins at this point.
I understand the accessibility reasons behind making paper notes of differing sizes. And I have no objection to it as long as they all still fit in a regular wallet. I’ve been in countries where the larger bills have to be triple folded to fit.
Interesting that the entries included a $1. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could get people using a coin? And do away with the penny. I’ve been to countries with no penny equivalent and no coins until the 10 or 20 note. You actually end up with less change in your pocket because you’re always spending the coins for your daily stuff.
I, too, am in favor of a dollar coin. I have no idea how to get folks to use them, however. The Susan B. Anthony dollar coins and now the presidential dollar coins are very, very unpopular.
Hell, my daughter and I even tried to collect the dollars but our local banks here in Virginia Beach won’t carry them. No demand at all, they say.
Personally, I really, really want a Richard M. Nixon dollar coin. I can’t believe I will (presumably) live long enough to see Nixon’s face on U.S. currency (scheduled for 2016).
Yes, please redesign the dollar bill!
This is a great design idea! Love the colors and the different sizes. I think the present dollar bills looks just the same, and are in the same size irrespective of its value. And that’s really confusing, for a Swede at least…
In this case: good design can make the dollar bill easier to understand and to use. Isn’t that the point with good design overall?
While these designs are clean and modern (and fun to bandy about), is there an overwhelming need for such drastic change? The subtle adjustments over the years are more in keeping with the country’s monetary tradition, like the NYT and WP in print, the Yankees’ pinstripes and Penn State’s classically plain uniforms.
It’s hard enough to get some to accept our president in human form. I can’t imagine how they’d feel about him in currency form.
That said, the dollar could use a redesign. It’s just a mess.
If people “don’t understand” the dollar bill and don’t know how to use it, then I think the problem is not with the bill.
I’m intrigued with the design featuring George Washington. The first president on the $1 is altogether fitting, still.
I’m also interested in seeing Roosevelt on a dollar bill, though if Roosevelt is enshrined, so should Kennedy, Reagan and Coolidge.
It would take an act of Congress to change the $1 bill — literally. The design is set in stone by federal law, even though every other bill and coin has been changed at least a couple of times in recent years.
What sorts of problems would different-size bills pose for our system?
Final thought, and it may touch a nerve: Frankly, even though this is a design exercise, I’m mystified as to how anyone would put Obama on a dollar bill after only a year and a half in office, especially when it’s too early to judge some of the things he’s done. There were schools named for the guy when he hadn’t even taken the oath yet! At least other presidents served a term and did something remarkable first. It’s unprecedented, and I don’t understand it.
These are well done. I’d slide one in a vending machine any day.
Rehash of what I said on FB:
Cash doesn’t need a makeover. But I like the idea of redesigning currency as a make-work bailout for out of work newspaper designers, a la the Federal Art Project of the 1930s. Why should billionaire bankers have all the fun?
The Bill of Rights tenner is actually pretty cool. Maybe a $5 could have the Miranda rights on it. Heh.
The NFL version makes me think that the project could be funded by corporate interests. What could be more American than corporate-sponsorship of cold, hard cash?