At a time when brands are becoming increasingly prevalent in society, French graphic and motion designer Jade Dalloul imagined what banknotes would look like if these were printed by companies in a set of illustrations named “Brand CurrencyThe money used in a particular country at a particular time, like dollar, yen, euro, etc., consisting of banknotes and coins, that does not require endorsement as a medium of exchange. More”. The idea came after seeing CEOs elected as president and countries behaving like corporations. Indeed, many large companies benefit from greater revenues than small countries and even have a higher headcount, paving the way for a comparison between the two. What’s more, CEOs such as Steve Job, Elon Musk or Marc Zuckerberg have been raised at the level of superstars and are often more famous than some Heads of State.
In an interview for CNN, Dalloul explained that banknoteA banknote (or ‘bill’ as it is often referred to in the US) is a type of negotiable promissory note, issued by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand. More design depends entirely on the culture, history and values of a country. Banknotes serve as a unique tool to educate the population, transmit values and promote the country worldwide. As a result, banknotes usually depict local treasures and personalities that marked history, from presidents to renowned poets and singers. These also showcase a country’s technological prowess through the integration of numerous security features, which play a crucial role in banknote manufacturing. According to Dalloul, the future of banknotes will be characterised by ever more sophisticated elements to fight against counterfeiting.
Dalloul applied the design practices used by central banks to its project, conceiving banknotes that are coherent with all the values of a selected brand and included logos, adequate colours, faces of directors and company slogans. Banknotes summarize the culture of an entity, be it a country, a corporation or even a group of countries, such as the European Union. In this particular case, Dalloul highlighted the difficulty of embracing imagery that suits to all member countries and valued the bridges that appear on the euroThe name of the European single currency adopted by the European Council at the meeting held in Madrid on 15-16 December 1995. See ECU. More notes, which symbolize unification with brio.