ECB will reveal design proposals for the new Euro banknotes tomorrow (July 23rd)

[Tik Tak]

It's on their social media, a short video of Lagarde inspecting the draws.

[lmviterbo]

Thanks, Tik Tak!! Obrigado, Bossa Nova!!

Post on LinkedIn

Follow the announcement (to be unveiled at a press conference) live tomorrow (23 July) from 16:15 CEST.

If you don't live in Central Europe:
15:15
17:15

Accessing the Event

• Primary stream: Live broadcast via the ECB LinkedIn Event Page.
• On-demand replay: Recorded broadcast will be uploaded shortly after to the ECB Multimedia Portal.

What to Expect

• The Presentation: Lagarde will unveil up to five shortlisted visual proposals per theme (so, up to 10 in total).
• The Feedback Survey: AI tells me that a portal link will launch immediately following the stream for EU citizens to vote on the concept art (although I haven't read this anywhere). I will post the link here once it's announced. Once live, the portal will likely remain open for several weeks for all EU citizens to rate the concept art.

[flv-fgsp]

And here are the proposals:
https://www.ecb.europa.eu/euro/banknote ... ls.en.html

[negative]

you can also take a survey:
https://surveys.ecb.europa.eu/10b/banknotes/share/

[K3vin]

Can someone explain what is going on with the "portrait mode" of some of the bills? Are people so accustomed to mobile phones now that they find it even difficult to process money in "landscape mode"?

Also all these designs look quite boring to be honest, but I guess it is because the task was also boring... Not the fault of artists. A few of the bills look very good, but unfortunately they are from different sets.

[Tárrega]

I agree.. I think it's a poor decision to go away from the imaginary buildings that doesn't represent any nation particularly. The 6 persons chosen only represent 6/21 euro countries.. which can only lead to inequality in some kind of way. Why are those persons more important than some others? Why not someone from e.g. Finland, Ireland or Portugal?

The birds on the other hand are a better idea, but still look a little too much like stamps or leaflets from a nature preservation organization to me.. a Finnish designer is among the 10 possibilities, with a bird design, but I'm not sure I could look at them every day in the same way as the ones we have now.

In my opinion some ancient buildings from the different parts of Europe could have been better proposal, then maybe paired with the most typical animal from the area on the backside of the note.

Something for everyone, but not anything from a distinct country in order to keep the series objective a equal for everyone throughout the continent, especially when the €-area (hopefully) enlarges in the future.

Southern Europe
Eastern Europe
Northern Europe
Central Europe
Western Europe
Southeastern Europe

These are just my thoughts, feel free to disagree or agree

[lmviterbo]

Vertical banknotes have been around since long before the term smartphone was even invented. And they're not just on fringe countries either. Switzerland switched to a striking vertical design starting with its 8th series in 1995. Swiss design is a lighthouse for both graphic and product designers in the entire world. Other countries followed, and many odd the portrait-mode banknotes have been awarded Banknote of the Year awards. Check Canada, Bermuda, Kazakhstan or Venezuela, for example. But above all, check swiss banknotes.

Why vertical? Not just a "let's be disruptive" thing.

Better Security: Tall polymer windows and stacked holographic features are harder to copy.
Easier Handling: Tall notes fit naturally into cash registers, and in most machines handling money.
Fresh Aesthetics: Puts human portraits in a prominent focal position.

[luckbox]

For those who prefer a quick view: someone made a slideshow with all the designs (A-J): https://www.tiktok.com/@cestmocro/photo ... ge_index=3
(you can go back with the arrows below the slideshow)

[ART]

A quick note: I prefer the character series, and I really don't like the vertical layout.

My favorites are E and H.

I think it's a poor decision to go away from the imaginary buildings that doesn't represent any nation particularly. The 6 persons chosen only represent 6/21 euro countries.. which can only lead to inequality in some kind of way. Why are those persons more important than some others? Why not someone from e.g. Finland, Ireland or Portugal?

It is a question many will understandably ask, but the deeper meaning of the characters series is precisely an invitation not to worry about the specific origins of the figures depicted. We need to move beyond a national mindset in favor of a federal one, where - regardless of where they come from - these persons belong to everyone, they are a historical heritage belonging to all of us Europeans.

[ART]

Vertical banknotes have been around since long before the term smartphone was even invented. And they're not just on fringe countries either. Switzerland switched to a striking vertical design starting with its 8th series in 1995. Swiss design is a lighthouse for both graphic and product designers in the entire world. Other countries followed, and many odd the portrait-mode banknotes have been awarded Banknote of the Year awards. Check Canada, Bermuda, Kazakhstan or Venezuela, for example. But above all, check swiss banknotes.

Why vertical? Not just a "let's be disruptive" thing.

Better Security: Tall polymer windows and stacked holographic features are harder to copy.
Easier Handling: Tall notes fit naturally into cash registers, and in most machines handling money.
Fresh Aesthetics: Puts human portraits in a prominent focal position.

That is all true, but - setting aside aesthetic considerations - I believe a certain stylistic continuity with previous series is necessary. Currencies that are highly valued and widely used even outside their ordinary circulation area, such as the euro, must be easily recognizable to everyone.

[GWR7007]

To begin with: I don't like any of these new design proposals and I fail to see why a makeover is that necessary. If new security features have to be included; why not keep the design we've had? In case that involves a redesign as we've already had with the Europa-series, why not?

I did not take part in the survey, so cannot say whether there is an option saying "keep the old design/keep the theme of the old design and update that", but apparently the ECB wants to change the design of the notes..... In my opinion all designs are boring/don't have a feeling of "this is something I can relate to" and it looks as if it is a half-hearted approacach to cash money in general, as if no-one at the ECB actually wants to have cash money in the future but due to treaties or something similar they are obliged to issue cash money. Maybe then alter the treaties and abolish cash money altogether if nobody at decision making level really wants it . Would not be my favourite - not only from an EBT point of view - but before having boring designs forced upon one....

The main problem I have with all designs is that I find them quite boring. I understand that if one chooses to have a design for several countries, there cannot really be a "national" side as could be with other currencies. However, what I ask myself is, how many people do know the proposed birds, know how the buildings of the European instituions look like and why the people theye've chosen for are "great" Europeans (e.g. what makes Von Beethoven a European? Writing the music to "Ode to Joy"? But why not Schiller? At least he wrote that b****y poem but probably with German unification in mind and no thought of inter-cultural trans-European unity . At least a quick browse on the German Wikipedia did not leave the impression that it was written/composed with the aim of having a European union and using the works of dead people several decades later when they aren't able to give their view doesn't make a point stronger....) with a back that doesn't say much as well really is beyond me.
If I really had to choose, it would probably be between "C" and "E" though I like that in the "B"-design, they give at least that piece of information what sort of bird I'd see. However, it is all on the condition that I am not really happy with any of the possible designs at all

[ART]

In my opinion all designs are boring/don't have a feeling of "this is something I can relate to" and it looks as if it is a half-hearted approacach to cash money in general, as if no-one at the ECB actually wants to have cash money in the future but due to treaties or something similar they are obliged to issue cash money. Maybe then alter the treaties and abolish cash money altogether if nobody at decision making level really wants it . Would not be my favourite - not only from an EBT point of view - but before having boring designs forced upon one....

The view that the designs are boring and forced upon people is a personal opinion, so certainly does not apply to the ECB, not least because it has no decision-making power regarding the retention or abolition of cash.

The main problem I have with all designs is that I find them quite boring. I understand that if one chooses to have a design for several countries, there cannot really be a "national" side as could be with other currencies. However, what I ask myself is, how many people do know the proposed birds, know how the buildings of the European instituions look like and why the people theye've chosen for are "great" Europeans (e.g. what makes Von Beethoven a European? Writing the music to "Ode to Joy"? But why not Schiller? At least he wrote that b****y poem but probably with German unification in mind and no thought of inter-cultural trans-European unity .

Have you ever wondered why previous series of euro banknotes featured monuments representing architectural styles invented in Europe, but the specific buildings depicted were entirely generic? The reason was the fear of offending "local sensibilities" by including elements on a limited number of banknotes that could be linked to only certain EU states rather than others. The proposal for a historical figures series aims to overcome this cultural taboo by depicting individuals from specific states who - as Europeans - represent a shared historical heritage. What makes van Beethoven European? He was who, as a European by birth, is an historical heritage not just of Germany but of all European Union citizens. It is not a question of what he or Schiller specifically wrote (which has, in any case, far surpassed the boundaries of their lands) but of who they were.
Well, I hope I’ve made these banknotes a little less boring for you