Australia, Ima Let You Finish But Norway Has The Best Currency Of All Time
Norway has revamped the look of their currency and passports and in doing so, has demonstrated why Scandinavia is kind of the best at that whole sleek understated design thing.
The Bank Notes
The Norwegian bank invited local designers to submit pitches for their new bank notes. They couldn’t settle on one, so instead they chose a conventional front side and a pretty radical flip side, all based around the chosen concept of “sea”. The front side by The Metric System is more of a traditional design, featuring intricate sketches of sea-themed stuff like a lighthouse, a Viking ship, a sailboat, some choppy waves and a glamour shot of a fish. Still no word on whether unique Norwegian delicacy Rakfisk (fermented trout) will feature in a design.
The flipside features the contemporary pixelated designs of Snøhetta highlighting the boundaries between the land and the sea, with a focus on the Norwegian coast as a key part of the nation’s identity, heritage and industries. The pixels get choppier and longer as the denomination gets higher.
The combination of the two straddles past tradition and modern design. Like how the sea meets the land. Like two sides of a coin. Which is money, like these notes, or whatever. Look, we’re sure the symbolism is all there. But more importantly, don’t they look cool?
The Passport
The passport redesign by Oslo studio Neue features minimal outlines of the natural Norwegian landscape with shading and patterns creating extra intricate layers.
Passports come in the bold colours of white (immigrant), turquoise (diplomat) and light red (standard citizen) and are stamped with gold emblems and lettering.
Like an M. Night Shyamalan film though, we’re really here for the twist at the end. Spoiler alert – when held under a UV light, the landscapes within the pages glow with the moon and northern lights in the night sky.
Both the bank notes and passports are expected to be in circulation within the next three years.
