OUGD406 Studio Brief 02 - Licence to Print Money - Research

Local currencies:
A few towns and cities in the UK have set up their own local currency schemes to promote local sustainability. However, local currency doesn't benefit from the same consumer protection as banknotes. Local currency schemes aim to boost spending within the local community and, in particular, among locally owned businesses. In addition, there may be other grounds for companies to participate, such as promotion in the scheme’s marketing material. Participation by both businesses and consumers might also reduce environmental footprints as well as signal a commitment to supporting the local community. 

Central bank money:
3 Key Functions of money;

• Medium of exchange, with which to make payments.
• Store of value, with which to transfer ‘purchasing power’ (the ability to buy goods and services) from today to some future date.
• Unit of account with which to measure the value of any particular item that is for sale.

Money can essentially be thought of as a claim (or 'IOU') from one person to another. Historically gold or silver was used as a medium of exchange or to later date, a store of value. 

Examples of local currency schemes:

- In 1832, the social reformer, Robert Owen, set up two 'national equitable labour exchanges' in London and Birmingham. He was concerned about the worsening living conditions of the working class so introduced 'labour notes' to pay workers in terms of the number of hours they spent to create units of production. The idea was to distribute wealth more equally to the working class. Despite initial success, the scheme lasted just two years owing to organisational failures.

- The Bristol Pound, local complimentary currency launched in Bristol in 2012. Its primary aim is to support independent traders in order to maintain diversity in business around the city. The scheme is a joint not-for-profit enterprise between Bristol Pound Community Interest Company and Bristol Credit Union. All the designs are done by local artists, reflecting or relating to Bristol.

OUGD406 Studio Brief 02 - Licence to Print Money - Research

Within this brief I need to conduct research into the development of banknotes and coinage, while also exploring the cultural understandings of legal tender. I need to begin a more developed interrogation of financial transactions in order to complete my own proposal for the future of the banknote.

The 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, when based on my design rationale. It is up to the me 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.

Finished prints for this brief are not digital prints.

I need to think visually and explore both literal and lateral responses. Work with text and image, both combined and separate. Consider the various techniques and processes that are available to you and their suitability for conveying or re-enforcing the ideas that you are trying to communicate.

Research:

I have begun my research by going on to The Bank of England's website to see what information I could gather. The Bank of England has been issuing banknotes for over 300 years, where the notes have gone through continual changes.

Currently there are four different denominations of Bank of England notes in circulation.

Each bank note has security features to help identify genuine banknotes. It is a criminal offence to keep or pass on that you know to be counterfeit. Counterfeit notes must be taken to the police where they will be sent off for analysis.

Maintaining confidence in the currency is a key objective of the Bank of England.

General advice for checking for counterfeit notes:

• The feel of the paper
• Raised print
• Metallic thread
• Watermark
• The holographic strip on the £20 note.
• The motion thread on the £50 note.
• Ultra-violet feature
• Size

• Print quality
• Microlettering
• Hologram
• See-through register

Polymer Banknotes:

In 2013 it was announced the next £5 and £10 banknotes would be printed on polymer, which is a thin and flexible plastic material. There cleaner more secure and more durable than paper.

The new £5 and £10 notes will generally look the same but will be around 15% smaller. The new £5 note will be issued in the second half of 2016. It will feature Sir Winston Churchill and will be 125mm x 65mm. The new £10 note will be issued in the second half of 2017.

It will feature Jane Austen and will be 132mm x 69mm. 

Withdrawn Banknotes:

Below is a list of all banknotes withdrawn from circulation since 1988. 

All withdrawn Bank of England banknotes remain payable at face value for all time, which will be exchanged for new banknotes at the Bank of England in London.

Banknote Characters:

Characters have featured on the Bank of England notes since the 1970's celebrating individuals that have shaped British thought, innovation, leadership, values and society. 

Characters already announced for future notes:

• £5 - Sir Winston Churchill
• £10 - Jane Austin

Characters featured on current notes:

• £5 - Elizabeth Fry
• £10 - Charles Darwin
• £20 - Adam Smith
• £50 - Matthew Boulton and James Watt

Characters featured on previous notes:

• Charles Dickens (writer)
• Sir Edward Elgar (composer)
• Michael Faraday (scientist)
• Sir John Houblon (first Governor of the Bank of England)
• Sir Isaac Newton (scientist)
• Florence Nightingale (nursing)
• William Shakespeare (poet/playwright)
• George Stephenson (engineer)
• 1st Duke of Wellington (general/statesman)
• Sir Christopher Wren (architect)

OUGD406 - People's History Museum for 'Show Me the Money: The Image of Finance, 1700 to the Present' exhibition.

People's History Museum for 'Show Me the Money: The Image of Finance, 1700 to the Present' exhibition:

The exhibition charts how the financial world has been imagined in art, illustration, photography and other visual media over the last three centuries in Britain and the United States. It shows how artists have grappled with the increasingly intangible nature of money and finance from the South Sea Bubble of the early eighteenth century to the global financial crisis of 2008 and its aftermath. 
Financial processes are often difficult to see not in spite, but precisely because, of their vast size. Finance – money, investment, credit, debt – is the air we breathe, and it is difficult, if not impossible, to get an objective view of an atmosphere that envelops us so completely.
(Taken from http://www.imageoffinance.com/exhibition)

Photos I have taken from the exhibition:

Peter Fluck
Top - Inflation Trap, 1970's, Ink on paper.
Bottom - More More, 1970's, Ink on paper.

Bank of Wapping Notes 1986

Cildo Meireles
Insertions into ideological Circuits 2: Banknote Project, 1970

Simon Roberts
Graphs, 2012

This was a small exhibition which expressed finance in different creative ways, which was quite interesting. My favourite piece would have to be 'Graphs' as it produced really engaging and compelling prints, working together in a large sequence. I also really liked the us of illustration throughout the exhibition and the satirical use they played. Overall it was an interesting exhibition which has got me thinking about what I am going to produce for Studio Brief 2.

OUGD406 Studio Brief 01 - Professional Practice - Secret 7 - Self Evaluation and Reflection

Self Evaluation and Reflection
I have found this brief really exciting but a lot more nerve racking as it is a live competition brief. I found that within the class people became a lot more competitive and seemed more motivated to produce a really good design, than with some of the other tasks. I found with this task that I had a more thought out design process which allowed me to get a range of ideas and this is something im going to take forward to improve my design practice within other tasks. Within the feedback process I found that it wasn't as useful as it could be, whether that was due to the questions I asked or not, next time I will make sure I ask the most appropriate. However I would have preferred an approach were we sat down in groups as I feel I gain the most beneficial feedback from those types of crits. If I had more time within this task I probably would have set the ice in the photography studio with the proper background and lighting, as that has hindered me entering some of my work due to odd colourings. Overall I have really enjoyed this task as it allowed me to come up with interesting and creative ideas without any limits.

OUGD406 Studio Brief 01 - Professional Practice - Secret 7 - Submissions

I have selected 4 designs that I would like to submit for the competition:

I have chosen this design because I like stark contrast between the white and the blue, making the ice look like hyper real crystals of sorts. It is an immersive design, with a striking central focus that draws you in.
Design Inspiration: Ice is a transparent crystalline solid, only remaining solid under certain conditions, the same as a relationship, it can all melt away.

I have chosen this design because I like the way the ice is pressed against the cover, giving it a 3D feel. The water droplets are really engaging and I feel reflect how the relationship in the song is being pressed thin.

I really like the compositional element of this cover as it enhances the design. Although the background isn't white, but a slightly off white, I think It could still have potential within the competition.

This last design had a mixed review but I personally really like this design as there was a lot of thought behind the image selection. Because the song is related to water and a relationship thats falling apart, I thought about the way that a sea erodes rocks and I found this really striking image that reflects it really well.

Design Inspiration: The sea is a powerful natural force which erodes rocks, very much reflecting the nature of the relationship within the song.

OUGD406 Studio Brief 01 - Professional Practice - Secret 7 - Feedback

Feedback:

We presented our work on our desks for the final ideas to submit for secret 7. This way we could all walk round and write down feedback which would give us a more informed decision on what design to pick.

My designs were:

The designs were laid out without people knowing what track they were meant to be for, people felt that my concepts weren't related to the song but the colours suggest that is it for 'Clearest Blue'. This was very surprising for me because the majority of the designs involved a water element which is to do with the song, however maybe this isn't portrayed clearly enough in my designs if people are getting confused. They did however like the use of white in the backgrounds as other colours would detract from the brightness of the blue. It makes the blue stand out and become more clear, they also believe white to be a clear and calming contrast and works well with busier compositions such as my last design. Someone also felt that my designs would stand out when on the shelf with a lot of full colour designs, bringing more attention to my design. 

It was suggested not to go for the designs with the rock in as they felt they looked to obviously like a photoshop effect and that they lack depth and originality. My feedback also suggested that the square of marbled colour looks odd in the centre and maybe extend to outer edges and play around with the composition.

Overall people preferred the ice images as they liked the clarity and the brightness of the blue. There is a strong visual connection and the approach is interesting even though someone suggested that it is an obvious response, although they had not seen it before.

OUGD406 Studio Brief 01 - Professional Practice - Secret 7 - Ice Experimention

One of the ideas that I had for this song was to work with food colouring and see how that freezes. I filled a small lunch box up with water and added a little bit of the food colouring, I also added colour when the ice was half way freezing so that it would fall through the layers.

While I was waiting for this I decided to get some crushed ice in a glass and pour food colouring on top to see what effect this would produce.

I think this worked really effectively and if I had a complete white background and the proper lighting I know this would work really well, although my photos aren't half bad. 

I edited some of them in photoshop to see what I would use for the front cover of the album.

The outcomes produced some really interesting visuals and it is something that I haven't seen before. I will probably submit one of these after gaining some feedback.

OUGD404 Studio Brief 01 - How do you read? - How we view colour

How we view colour - physical, physiological and psychological.

The surface of an object reflects some colours and absorbs all the others. We perceive only the reflected colours.
The human eye and brain work together to translate light into colour. Light receptors within the eye transmit messages to the brain, which produces the familiar sensations of colour. 

The eye contains two types of receptors:
RODS - convey shades of black white and grey.
CONES - allow the brain to perceive colour.

There are 3 types of cones:
TYPE 1: is sensitive to red/orange light.
TYPE 2: is sensitive to green light.
TYPE 3: is sensitive to blue-violet light.

These receptors process the light into nerve impulses and pass them along to the cortex of the brain via the optic nerve.

Because of this physiological response, the eye can be 'fooled' into seeing the full range of visible colours through the proportionate adjustment of just 3 colours: RED, GREEN and BLUE.

About 8% of men and 1% of women have some form of colour impairment. 
The most common impairment is red and green dichromatism which causes red and green to appear indistinguishable. Other impairments affect other colour pairs. People with total colour blindness are very rare.

OUGD404 Studio Brief 01 - How do you read? - Layout

Today I looked at how my colour theory leaflet is going to be laid out, and what information is going to go where. I sketched out a rough plan of what I aim to do, this will help me to consider how much information I need as I only have small spaces to work with.

OUGD404 Studio Brief 01 - How do you read? - Front Cover Designs

Today I started to experiment with front cover ideas so that I can set the theme for the rest of my leaflet. I have also decided on sizing for my leaflet. I want the shape of my leaflet to be square so all sides need to be equal. Because I am doing a tri-fold I only need 3 squares, I decided to work on an A3 sheet so that it's not too big. This divided up would be 42cm divided by 3 which is 14cm.

So my leaflet folded up will be 14cm x 14cm.

I also began looking at digital interpretations of the front cover:

I really like the picture framed by a thick white border as it makes the design seem more sleek and ordered. I have also played around with how the type could be laid out and I prefer it when the type is slightly cut off either top or bottom and one word being larger that the other to produce an interesting visual focus. Because I do not want to spend too long working on the front cover I am going to go with my last design idea as this is my favourite design and I can base the rest of the leaflet design around that.