Silicon Valley Currency System
The objective for this project was to create a fictional currency system for a city, country, or region (fictional or real) that embodies the nature of the location while displaying traditional currency features.
The deliverables were:
1) To first come up with 3 drafts with distinct styles that display the location's characteristics and currency features
2) To to further develop the most successful system into 3 example bills, front and back, that use variations of the selected theme to be distinguishable from one another
The location I selected was Silicon Valley, the alter ego of the Southern Bay Area in California where I am from. SV is known for its modernity, diversity, and creativity and is a colorful, quirky place underneath its shell.
Draft No.1
My first draft focuses on highlighting locations and important sites in Silicon Valley and using features from those places to create holographic textures that double as counterfeit measures. The imagery has been treated in Photoshop and there is information on the bill regarding the site.
The counterfit textures are inspired by computer chips and codes as those are the main products that put SV on the map.
Each side has a brail number next to the printed numeral.
Draft No.2
My second draft focuses on highlighting information about famous sites in SV by using an illustration suspended on a clear/see-through strip of plastic. The illustration hints at what the site may be, and the information goes into more detail.
The counterfit measures have been simplified to more organic textures and the printed numerals also are suspended on clear-see-through strips with a brail numeral on both sides.
Draft No.3
My third draft focuses on having a more defined feel to each side, with the front having various abstract symbols and ideas of SV and the back having information and visuals about a specific site.
The imagery of the site itself serves as a holographic texture and counterfeit measure, and each side includes a brail number next to the printed numeral.
This draft was selected for the second deliverable, 3 iterations that follow the design system.
Final Set
The 3 bills each focus on different sites in SV. and are unified through the distinction between the fronts and backs. The grid system uses different symbols and ideas that relate to SV and follow a color palette that helps define each bill by value.