Dissecting the Dollar Re-Design Project
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With faith in the US dollar hitting new lows, some believe the solution lies not in politics, but in design. Meet Richard Smith, architect of the ambitious and infectiously popular “dollar rede$ign project.” Smith is a creative strategy consultant who feels, “…our great rival, the Euro, looks so spanky in comparison,” to US currency that, “…it seems the only clear way to revive this global recession is to re-brand and re-design.” But rather than merely arguing for a new-look dollar, Smith drummed up an impressive wave of support for a redesign by allowing people to submit their own ideas to a web-based contest.
The idea is roughly similar to corporate re-branding, which seeks to change the face of struggling organizations by adopting fresh, new images. Several banks, for instance, have undergone name, color and logo changes since 2008 to erase the negative perceptions attached to old branding. In Smith’s view, a re-branding of the dollar targets the same goal: expressing and revamping its emotional value and the connections people make with currency. Seen from this perspective, the negativity people feel about our money and economy stems not just from economic indicators and discouraging news reports, but from the very look and feel of the money we possess. Change the “brand”, Smith believes, and you take a bold step toward changing our entire emotional response to US currency. And Smith isn’t alone in advocating a graphical overhaul of the dollar. In a blog post applauding the redesign project, the New York Times quotes designer Michael Bierut calling the current dollar, “…a cake that has been decorated to within an inch of its life.” Specifically, Bierut derided the dollar’s new enlarged purple numbers (an anti-counterfeit measure) as, “…a denim patch on a satin dress.”
Few could argue with Smith or Bierut that the dollar could use a new look. The world was quite different when the dollar got its last, major visual upgrade in 1930’s. And to its credit, the dollar redesign project has produced numerous, beautiful designs that most of us would be proud to carry in our wallets. Take this concept from Kottle.org, featuring a sleek green layout, a bluish-purple vertical stripe, George Washington’s portrait and text from the First and Second Amendments to the Constitution. A full inventory of all redesign project submissions can be seen here. The project’s winner (announced patriotically on July 4), however, was 25 year old Kyle R. Thompson. Beginning from his convictions that, “…conceptual design can really transform the way people deal with their communities” and that current dollars, “…feel cold and outdated”, Thompson took home top project honors with this submission (shown below.) Indeed, Thompson’s concepts breathe some much-needed fresh air into US currency while honoring the great traditions of our founders and history. On purely artistic grounds, Thompson and the entire dollar redesign project are to be applauded.
Artistic merit notwithstanding, however, it is unclear whether redesigning the dollar will address the severest criticisms leveled against it. For all the similarities between currency redesign and re-branding, there is one large difference: a corporation’s products or services are consumed. A business can properly engage in an image overhaul on the assumption (or at least the hope) that a better image will attract more sales, customer loyalty or other results. Currency, on the other hand, is simply a nation’s medium of exchange. Put another way, a dollar de-design project that made our currency as hideous and unappealing as possible would still result in everyone who currently uses dollars using the new ones. While businesses can lose customers, citizens cannot start paying the local Wal-Mart (*now, Walmart) in Euros if they decide they’re unsatisfied with the dollar.
It is also worth noting that physical currency is not as prominent in day to day commerce as in generations past. The lion’s share of today’s transactions are digital – facilitated by debit/credit cards, PayPal accounts, wire transfers, gift certificates, direct deposit, electronic stock exchanges and other mechanisms that reduce the number of people physically using dollars. While cash-based businesses are still with us, the economy has largely “moved on” from printed money. Therefore, exactly what or how big of an effect a nicer-looking dollar would have on the economy is hard to forecast.
(Won Park)
Of course, one could argue that a snazzier dollar will attract currency speculators to invest here what they would have invested in the Euro, yuan or other currencies. No one can deny the worthiness of that goal. Harvard MBA John T. Reed recently likened bond traders and forex traders to, “…the canary in the mine” who would be, “…the first to herald the arrival of the financial apocalypse.” But unlike commodities (like coffee beans or diamonds) currencies do not share an ubiquitous price. Rather, currency speculators decide which currencies to invest in based on current or predicted value. Variables considered in currency speculation include political stability, national debt, deficit spending, and the willingness of foreign governments to buy your debt – all decidedly non-aesthetic considerations. Taking this into account, it’s hard to imagine currency speculators staking thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars of their own money on a currency solely because of a graphical makeover. Far more weighty in such decision making are things like China deciding to cease buying U.S. bonds.
None of this, again, downplays the artistic value of a new-look dollar. Few would oppose Kyle Thompson’s design replacing current dollars in our wallets and bank accounts. That being said, the link between how our dollars look and how they are percieved by foreign governments and speculators is less certain.
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17 Comments so far
leave a commentwhat a great idea, its not everyday that marketing companies come up with innovative solutions
Well he has rightly pointed out the problem with the US $ – but not in the way he thinks. The recent financial crisis was brought about by making things look better than they appear rather than fixing the problems underneath – this is the same thing.
There are good arguments for redesigning the currency (making forgery more difficult, easing interactions for those not used to the currency or with vision difficulty, etc). Making it more attractive is the same as planting some flowers in front of your house – it doesn’t add any intrinsic value but some sucker might pay a bit more because of it.
Perhaps an economy based on real value rather than perceptions would go a longer way in helping the $?
The new currency should be backed by something. Possibly an opium based currency. Or instant coffee. Redeemable for a jar of instant coffee.
This is irrelevant. I can’t remember the last time I touched money because of electronic banking and debit/credit card transactions. Several denominations have been redesigned within the past few years already and I haven’t ever seen any of them.
those top bill designs look like cheesy suburban housewife custom check designs. i’m no huge fan of today’s dollars but if the samples your pictures show, you’re just going to make things worse with these cheesy Adobe Illustrator clip art designs.
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interesting ideas!
Almost 20 years I was enrolled in college studying graphic design and we had worked on a project like this. Some of the designs students had done at that time looked a lot like what the Euro does today and it was before it’s time. But here in the good old USA it will never go this direction.
Why are they even doing this? Aren’t we satisfied that the last color designs make our money look like it’s from a board game?
I appreciate that someone has taken the time to write a thoughtful article, but this superficial thought process will not do anything to strenghten the value of our currency.
Appearances are always temporary, and once people realize the facade, you end up exponentially lower than where you would have been if you focused on substance.
Our money is based on the soundness of the Founding Father’s principles, and this is what has helped give it the value it hold for all these years.
Turning it into monopoly money will only devalue it.
It’s about time for some new money, just wondering how much money its costing to make all this new money
Umm…looks great, but simply rebranding our $ will not change the abysmal economic policies employed by Obama’s administration.
And how’s changing the look of the dollar going to do anything to about the declining value of our fiat? Maybe Baraq should stop creating more monopoly money??
@ Above my pay grade: please read the whole article; It is a descriptive piece about an interesting design project that some very creative individuals are working on. Most major news sources have covered this story. No where in the editorial am I advocating a re-design as a solution to: our struggling economy, and/or the precarious situation of the US dollar.
It would seem like the way the money looks would not be as relevantly important as what it was ultimately worth. To focus on how it looks instead of focusing on fixing its decline in value seems illogical.
it’s like Monopoly
I’d argue in favor of a redesign for different reasons. Dollar bills are very badly designed in my mind for 2 big reasons:
1) All bills regardless of denomination share the same size.
2) All bills regardless of denomination share the same color scheme.
Growing up in India, I was accustomed to having larger bills for larger values and different colors for every denomination. It makes the value of a note obvious even to a blind person or an illiterate person (a big reason for the color scheme in India probably). I think the complexity of a currency also makes it harder to forge. All in all “2 thumbs way up” for a dollar redesign.
@Joshua RItchie, I think you are advocating the re-design if not as the solution, at least as worthy:
First, “Of course, one could argue that a snazzier dollar will attract currency speculators to invest here what they would have invested in the Euro, yuan or other currencies.”
And then, “No one can deny the worthiness of that goal.” If “no one” can deny it, then you are for it (you didn’t exclude yourself).
I, however, certainly deny the worthiness of the purpose of this project. As the governement prints more paper money without there being something of value to back it up (i.e. gold), it becomes less of a wise investment. Investors are not Retail Consumers–they are looking at the numbers (as you do mention briefly) not the attractiveness of the packaging. Even the most ugly design is going to make no difference to an Investor as to a currency’s investment soundness.
As a design critique, Richard Smith’s design is terrible since it communicates nothing about the value proposition of the country (we do not see the reverse in this image, so I reserve my full judgement). The United States was founded on some astounding values, and those people who helped found it are honored by having a place of prominence on our currency as well as tell the world who we hold up in honor. This design is abstract for abstract’s sake, and therefore falls short.
I disagree the Kyle R Thompson’s winning entry breathes fresh air into the dollar design. Besides removing all visual references to America and Americans (and thereby making the pillars of our country of no effect–replacing them with “though leaders” is offensive to the reason of founding this country), there is less style as the current dollar design. I thought I was looking at some European currency. There is nothing distictive here from a branding perspective which projects “America”.
What is so artisticly offensive about our currency design? Even the most recent modifications to the dollar have enhanced the qualities of artistry and patriotism. This need to make things of meaning into “cool” and “fresh” for the sake of doing it is clearly a thread which runs through all of our society. Things of value are being swept aside to be replaced with glitz and sizzle and no substance.
For more information on the astounding nature of our country, read “The 5,000 Year Leap”. http://www.amazon.com/5000-Year-Leap-Miracle-Changed/dp/0880801484/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258569799&sr=8-1
What? People aren’t really taking this superficial action as something that will help the weak as hell dollar?!
Of course, I like having the constitution on the bill, but I don’t think that will force the politicians to actually enforce it (considering the paper dollar is unconstitutional to begin with!)!!!