Dollar ReDe$ign Project: Somewhere Over the Rainbow : Rasmus Kongshøj : Dollar ReDe$ign

The Rainbow Series:

a modern design in keeping with tradition.

'The US Dollar is by far the major currency most in need of a new design. Visually impaired, stressed clerks and many other citizens constantly run the risk of not being able to tell the difference between the bills since they are very similar in color and totally similar in size.

I choose to keep the "dead presidents" theme from the current series. As this will make the transition easier for consumers who are used to seeing Washington on a one Dollar note, Franklin on a 100 Dollar note and so on. I also choose to keep the seals and other elements in order for people to be able to see that the note in their hand is actually a US Dollar.

For the designs on the back of the notes I choose to avoid grand and imposing national symbols. Instead I took images of ordinary Americans engaging in activities connected to values that are part of the positive American brand: individual liberty, religious freedom, equal rights for all ethnic groups, property rights, freedom of speech, the rule of law, and democracy.

To get the look and feel of currency I used engraved images and added guilloche ornaments. To prevent counterfeiting each note has been supplied with a hologram at the lower right corner of the front of each bill. The black engraved guilloche elements, as well as the dark symbol to the left of the back of each note are to be printed in raised ink. Furthermore each bill has a hidden security thread embedded in the paper, that shows up when the bill is put up to the light. Finally the lightly colored ornament at the top of the "empty" field of each note also prevents counterfeiting; when held up to the light the ornaments on each side of the note ought to combine perfectly, if there is a gap or an overlap the note might be counterfeited.

I put great emphasis on making the notes easily distinguishable from one another. The colors of the series span the entire color wheel (hence the name "Rainbow Series"), in order to make colors as different as possible. Furthermore the notes have varying lengths (I kept the height the same in order to make the reconfiguration of vending machines easier). Finally as a special help to the visually impaired symbols in raised ink at the back of each notes makes it possible to tell one denomination from another, even for the blind.'

Rasmus Kongshøj is a bank note collector and an amateur graphic artist who lives in Denmark.

These designs are NOT legal tender.
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