During the last 1,5 years, I’ve been traveling a lot. Apart from my must-have things like laptop, sketchbook, and power bank, there constantly appears a new one, in a familiar shape but a new look. That’s

在过去的1.5年中，我经常旅行。 除了笔记本电脑，写生簿和移动电源之类的必备物品外，还不断出现一种新的形状，形状熟悉但外观新颖。 那是

the currency—the banknotes and coins of the new country.货币 -新国家的纸币和硬币。

Of course, that’s not a case when I’m in Sweden as they’re moving to cash-free reality and, even more, it can be a challenge for you to find a place that accepts cash for payment, at least, in Stockholm.

当然，当我在瑞典，因为他们正转向无现金现实时，情况并非如此，而且，对于您来说，至少在斯德哥尔摩，找到一个接受现金付款的地方可能对您构成挑战。 。

On the contrary, when I was in German cities, some places accepted only cash which, to be honest, surprised me. So anyway, moving or not to a cash-free society, this essential element of our life will follow us for a long time.

相反，当我在德国城市时，有些地方只接受现金，说实话，这使我感到惊讶。 因此，无论是否迁移到无现金社会，我们生活中的这一基本要素将长期存在。

And so, I decided to analyze the design of that banknotes and coins I had a chance to discover during my trips. What are the universal rules, if there are some. How easily did I recognize the new banknote and was able to pay the required cost quickly? Are there any principles we can learn from the oldest form of payment, coins?

因此，我决定分析旅行中有机会发现的那些钞票和硬币的设计。 通用规则是什么(如果有)。 我如何轻松识别新钞票并能够快速支付所需费用？ 有没有我们可以从支付， 硬币的最古老的形式学习任何原则是什么？

小东西叫硬币 (That little thing called a coin)

欧元 (Euro)

As a tourist, I’m most familiar with the euro currency. So are 340 million people who use it on a daily basis, making it the second most-used currency worldwide.

作为游客，我最熟悉欧元。 每天有3.4亿人在使用它，这使它成为全球第二大使用货币。

It’s easy to notice that the hierarchy of cents and euros is based on 3 main elements:

容易注意到，美分和欧元的层次结构基于3个主要元素：

• Color

  颜色

• Size and weight

  尺寸和重量

• Detalization

  毁灭性

A simplified image would look like this.

简化的图像看起来像这样。

3 bronze coins, 3 golden, and 2 golden-silver ones. While some of these coins look like they have the same or similar size, like 2 and 10, 5 and 20, their weight still varies.

3枚铜币，3枚金币和2枚金银币。 尽管其中一些硬币看起来大小相同或相似， 例如2和10、5和20 ，但它们的重量仍在变化。

Each group has its own type of engraved image on the reverse (tail) side. Moreover, it worth noticing that the edge of each coin (except for 1, 2, and 5) has various tactile qualities. These two factors make euro coins accessible—they can be used by people with a variety of disabilities.

每个组的背面(尾部)都有自己的雕刻图像类型。 而且，值得注意的是，每个硬币的边缘(1、2和5除外)具有各种触觉质量 。 这两个因素使欧元硬币易于使用 -各种残障人士都可以使用它们。

Such point is useful to note for each UX/UI designer—remember about the accessibility.

对于每个UX / UI设计人员来说，记住这一点很有用-记住可访问性。

Tactile qualities make euro coins accessible so that they can be used by people with a variety of disabilities.

触觉质量使欧元硬币易于使用，因此各种残障人士都可以使用它们。

The same color division can be seen in other traditional things like Olympic medals.

在其他传统事物(例如奥运会奖牌)中可以看到相同的颜色区分。

Initially being based on the rarety of gold, silver, copper (bronze) metals the classical order of Olympic medals appeared.

最初基于稀有的金，银，铜(青铜)金属，出现了奥运会奖牌的经典顺序。

Euro coins in its design seem to be quite standard and so I wasn’t surprised when I saw such currencies:

欧元硬币的设计似乎很标准，因此当我看到这样的货币时，我并不感到惊讶：

巴西雷亚尔 (Brazilian real)

While most of the coins have the same reverse side composition (except for the number), their difference is based on color and detalization (1 real).

尽管大多数硬币的背面成分相同(数字除外) ，但它们的区别基于颜色和深度(1实数)。

新加坡元 (Singapore dollar)

Only two colors, silver and gold, and the same approach of having the most valuable coin in a row—1 dollar—to be made of two metals.

只有两种颜色，银和金，以及用两种金属制成连续一枚最有价值的硬币(1美元)的相同方法。

形状特征 (Shape features)

Another option of how to reach the accessibility of the coins is to play with the form.

如何到达硬币的可访问性的另一种选择是使用表格。

While the circle is the most common and obvious coin figure, some variations may apply, such as a wave-like edge as in Hong Kong coins or a hole in Danish krone.

虽然圆圈是最常见和最明显的硬币形状，但可能会出现一些变化，例如像香港硬币那样的波浪形边缘或丹麦克朗的Kong。

A note for a designer:

设计师注意事项：

even if you’re limited in your choice, small changes can make a design look and feel different.

即使您的选择有限，微小的更改也会使设计的外观和风格有所不同。

Another note on UX: Danish krone coins for sure look beautiful (they even have hearts!) and sophisticated but from the usability point, the numbers on most of them are very small. And so, the person who’s using them for the first time (like me) can be a bit confused.

关于UX的另一个注意事项：丹麦克朗硬币肯定看起来很漂亮(它们甚至有心！)，而且精致，但是从可用性的角度来看，大多数硬币的数量都很少。 因此，第一次使用它们的人(如我)可能会有些困惑。

And while I’m criticizing designers from the Kingdom of Denmark, I might note what’s happening in my own country Ukraine, especially since we’re facing the updates of currency design at the moment.

当我批评丹麦王国的设计师时，我可能会注意到我自己的国家乌克兰正在发生的事情，特别是因为我们目前正面临货币设计的更新。

乌克兰格里夫纳汇率 (Ukrainian hryvnia)

Here are the new coins. Some of them like 1 and 2 hryvnias are already widely in use. At first sight, they all look decent, then why I’m judging this update? (like thousands of other Ukrainians)

这是新硬币。 其中一些像1和2格里夫纳汇率已经广泛使用。 乍一看，它们看起来都很不错，那为什么我要判断此更新呢？ (像成千上万的乌克兰人一样)

The answer is simple—take a look at other old-style coins that are still in use.

答案很简单-查看仍在使用的其他老式硬币。

Even though the smallest pennies like 1, 2, 5 are in the process of being withdrawn from use lately, the shapes and sizes(!) of the new hryvnias coins are very similar to pennies. That’s the huge UX fail, I believe.

即使最近最小的1、2、5美分硬币都已停产，新格里夫纳汇率硬币的形状和大小(！)与美分硬币非常相似。 我相信，那是巨大的用户体验失败。

Another inconsistency is that there is an old-style big golden 1 hryvnia coin and the same amount is now presented in a small silver coin.

另一个不一致之处是，有一个老式的大金1格里夫纳汇率硬币，现在以小银币形式提供了相同金额。

A note for a designer: while working on the renovation and updates think about a transition period and all kinds of people who will use your end product. In the case of the national currency, the target audience is the most extensive—all citizens. Elderly people or people with eye disability shouldn’t be forgotten.

设计师注意事项：在进行翻新和更新时，请考虑过渡期以及将使用您最终产品的所有人员。 就本国货币而言，目标受众是最广泛的受众—所有公民。 不应忘记老年人或有视力障碍的人。

让我们添加一些颜色和价值：钞票 (Let’s add some color and value: the banknotes)

尺寸 (Size)

Have you ever thought about the size of the banknotes we have right now? We do not even consider that it’s convenient but it wasn’t like that always.

您是否考虑过我们现在拥有的纸币大小？ 我们甚至不认为这很方便，但并非总是如此。

For instance, 1000 rubles 1917 year had almost A5 paper size.

例如，1000卢布(1917年)的纸张尺寸几乎为A5。

颜色 (Color)

One of the most beautiful banknotes, as I believe, is the Swiss franc. Why? Because of significant color usage.

我相信，最美丽的钞票之一是瑞士法郎 。 为什么？ 由于大量使用颜色。

These banknotes are saturated, have a contrast thanks to complementary colors (as you can see from the color spectrum I added on the picture) and are easily distinguished one from another.

这些钞票是饱和的，由于具有互补色而具有对比度(如您从我在照片上添加的色谱图中所看到的) ，并且易于区分。

No surprise they are on point. Switzerland is a very design-friendly country. It’s the homeland of Helvetica and the most minimalistic “huge plus” red flag. Period.

不足为奇。 瑞士是一个设计友好的国家。 这是赫尔维蒂卡(Helvetica)的故乡，也是最简约的“巨大”红旗。 期。

And while the color contrast is the most common and widely used approach, in some cases color adds misunderstanding.

虽然颜色对比是最常见且使用最广泛的方法，但在某些情况下，颜色会增加误解。

越南盾案 (Vietnam dong case)

Recently I visited Vietnam for the first time. I was fascinated with the beauty of this country, a different culture, and well, the fact that everyone is a millionaire there too. There are lots of zeros on every banknote and that’s already a challenge.

最近，我第一次去越南。 我与这个国家的美丽，不同的文化，和好 ，其实，每个人都是百万富翁有太多着迷。 每张钞票上都有很多零，这已经是一个挑战。

Even more, though the color spectrum of Vietnamese banknotes altogether looks calm and nice, as it’s the combination of pastel color background and intense graphics on top, the color range is limited and there’s not a big distinction between them.

更重要的是，尽管越南钞票的色谱看上去完全平静而优美，但由于 它是柔和的颜色背景和顶部的强烈图形的结合 ， 因此颜色范围有限，而且两者之间没有太大区别。

As a result, that’s a common tourist trap, especially when you have to pay quickly. It’s easy to get lost in all zeros and, at least, mix up 10000 with 200000 (because their general color palettes are very similar).

因此，这是一个常见的旅游陷阱，尤其是当您必须快速付款时。 很容易迷失全零，并且至少将10000与200000混合在一起(因为它们的常规调色板非常相似)。

A note for a designer: color contrast can’t be underrated. Put your designs in a row and check whether each of them is well distinguished from the surrounding.

设计师注意事项：色彩对比不可低估。 将您的设计排成一排，并检查每个设计是否与周围环境区分开。

一致性 (Consistency)

That’s what I’ve noticed in Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Brazil, and Vietnam—the image on the face side of these banknotes is… the same.

这就是我在新加坡，泰国，香港，巴西和越南注意到的-这些钞票正面的图像是……相同。

There’s the key symbol of the country (lion for Hong Kong), the first President (Singapore), a national personification or a symbol of a Head of republic (Brazil).

这里有国家的主要标志(香港的狮子) ，第一任总统(新加坡) ，国家化身或共和国首脑(巴西)的标志。

While having a famous persona on the reverse side of the banknote is a common solution, it would be interesting to mention the idea behind the redesign of the Swiss franc you’ve seen earlier in the article. Here’s the quote from the official website: “With the ninth banknote series the Swiss National Bank broke new ground on the design front — moving away from the depiction of well-known personalities… Each characteristic is communicated via an action, a Swiss location and various graphic elements.”

虽然在钞票的背面有一个著名的角色是一个常见的解决方案，但有趣的是要提到重新设计瑞士法郎背后的想法，就像您在本文前面看到的那样。 以下是官方网站的引文： “瑞士国家银行采用第九个钞票系列，在设计方面开辟了新天地–摆脱了对知名人物的描述……每个特征都通过一个动作，一个瑞士所在地和各种方式进行传达。图形元素。”

Or it can be a combination of famous people from one side and national animals as heroes like in Argentinian peso. I personally love this approach.

或者它可以是一方面是著名人物，又是阿根廷比索英雄的民族动物。 我个人喜欢这种方法。

Another quite artistic approach is to dedicate all sides to nature, as you can see in the Faroe Islands krone. It looks extremely sophisticated and relevant to a country where there are more sheep than… citizens.

如法罗群岛克朗所见，另一种颇具艺术性的方法是将自然的各个方面都奉献给人们。 它看起来非常复杂，并且与一个绵羊比……多的国家息息相关。

To conclude the banknote section, the key factors to distinguish the series are:

总结钞票部分，区分系列的关键因素是：

• High contrast高对比度
• Wide color range色彩范围广
• Small size variation (optional)小尺寸变化(可选)

And I would add, creativity.

我还要补充一下创造力 。

未来货币会是什么样子？ (How future currencies can look like?)

Even such old-fashioned, traditional things as banknotes and coins, do have changes and transformations through time. And that’s definitely the field for design experiments. Here are some of my personal predictions.

即使是像钞票和硬币这样的老式传统物品，也会随着时间的流逝而发生变化。 这绝对是设计实验的领域。 这是我的一些个人预测。

纵向 (Portrait orientation)

Nowadays we all have smartphones and reading the information in portrait orientation is more frequent and usual. Can’t it be the reason more currencies redesign switch to the vertical composition?

如今，我们所有人都拥有智能手机，并且以纵向读取信息的频率越来越高。 难道不是更多的货币重新设计转向垂直结构的原因吗？

动植物而不是个性 (Flora and fauna instead of personalities)

Cause they deserve it. It’ll be also an everyday reminder for every one of us to protect animals and nature.

因为他们应得的。 这也将每天提醒我们所有人保护动物和自然。

抽象主义 (Abstract art)

Following simplification, the main pictures on banknotes may even become an abstract form where color, shape, and texture will play a distinctive role.

经过简化，钞票上的主要图片甚至可能变成抽象形式，其中颜色，形状和纹理将发挥独特的作用。

通用货币？ (Universal currency?)

I’m not an expert in the economy but the universal currency does pop up in mind as an option thinking about the concepts. At least, it’s interesting to dream about such world following a style of John Lennon’s Imagine song.

我不是经济专家，但是考虑到这些概念时，会突然想到使用通用货币。 至少，按照约翰·列侬(John Lennon)的《想像》(Imagine)歌曲的风格梦到这样的世界很有趣。

The thing I do know that in this case, the competition between designers to create such currency would be HUGE! And that would be fun, right?

我确实知道，在这种情况下，设计师之间创造这种货币的竞争将非常巨大！ 那会很有趣，对吗？

I love writing about design, travel, new cultures and everything related. As you’re reading these lines right now you might have read the full article, so here are some of my previous stories that can be interesting to you to continue reading:

我喜欢写有关设计，旅行，新文化和所有相关内容的文章。 当您现在阅读这些行时，您可能已经阅读了整篇文章，因此，以下是我以前的一些故事，您可能会继续读下去它们很有趣：

The value of the city branding

城市品牌价值

Cultural specifics — how do they influence on design and user experience?

文化特征-它们如何影响设计和用户体验？

• Part 1 (Singapore, Thailand Bangkok)

  第1部分 (新加坡，泰国曼谷)

• Part 2 (Thailand Phuket, Hong Kong)

  第2部分 (泰国普吉岛)

Fly Me to the Faroe Islands: the land of wonder and trust

带我飞到法罗群岛：神奇与信任的土地

Meet His Majesty, the Color (color study)

迎接the下，色彩 (色彩研究)

Thanks for reading!

谢谢阅读！