Currency Design - Ideas Generation & Feedback

Ideas Generation & Feedback

Since I was going to use Picasso as the main personality for the bank note next to the Allegory of Hispania, a way to put both characters in the bank note needed to be found out. First I started to try to integrate both elements by making the image of Picasso to hold the Allegory between his hands. I also placed both elements separately on the layout and to bring more ideas on the table, I used the book Graphic Design Cookbook to see how I could use the layouts it shows, sketching out the ideas that came to my mind in the process.

During one of the feedback sessions, some valuable points were made about how I was going to approach this piece of work. Since it has political implications, I had to ask myself "why a republic?". Answering this, it would make easier to make design decisions based on this kind of topic. I answered this question by saying that there can't be a head of state named by a dictator that was a murderer, Franco. He and his family are nowadays very rich while the 30% of the country is in risk of poverty, and those same citizens are the one paying their luxuries. That's something that should belong to the past, but Spanish shouldn't forget about.

It made me think about the concept of the darkness of the past in opposition to a bright future. The Guernica is the perfect piece of art to reflect this point. The front side will content bright colours related to the republic, and the back will be with dark colours, that also represent the black eagle on the Spanish flag during Franco's dictatorship. Although, there needs to be a separation. The picture needs to be displayed not covering the whole back side, but just a portion, like a memory in a very different time.

For the second feedback session I already had my work on paper almost done. I decided to use the V shape and some comments backed me up with these decision, as it brings a positive appearance and something I didn't think about: V of victory.