2011 — SMART BANKNOTES DESIGN BRIEF
Money can simply be understood as a representation of goods and services, as such there has always been a constant arms race between the people who print currency and those who copy it. New technologies are constantly developed and implemented in order to keep ahead of the counterfeiters / hackers and help retain the value within objects that (materially speaking) are valueless.

Intricate illustrations, watermarks and foil have been used to make banknotes as secure as possible, although with the advent of home printing this old technology is at a crossroad. What does the future hold for hard currency... What if paper were replaced with plastic? If the watermark was substituted with a microchip? And the illustrations replaced by electronic displays? Such advances in technology would change the designer’s constraints and allow for a completely new system of trade to be developed.

WE ARE NOW ACCEPTING ENTRIES FOR THE 2011:

FUTURE OF MONEY - DESIGN AWARD.

Creative practitioners from across the UK are invited to submit a design, based around a proposed ‘smart banknote’ system, a potential replacement for existing paper notes. Your vision isn’t limited to a specific medium, but should be based around the technological specifications/limitations of the smart banknote system.
Click here for more information on the smart banknote system

Submissions
We are looking for inspired visual designs, ingenious inventions, insightful stories and unexpected consequences of such a technology.

• Please send your entries to art@chyp.com
• Documentation: PDF is preferable
• Video Work: sent via Vimeo / YouTube link
• Images: Jpg
• Deadline for submissions is 21st February 2011.
• Shortlisted entries will be informed by 25th February 2011.
• Awards

The awards will be presented during the London Digital Money Forum, organised by Consult Hyperion
1st prize – £500
2nd prize - £250
Shortlisted submissions will be credited online and invited to the award presentation.

JUDGES

Catherine Eagleton - Curator of money at The British Museum
Sandra Alzetta — Senior VP, Visa Europe
David Birch - Director of Consult Hyperion
Austin Houldsworth - Interaction Designer, RCA