This project is the creation of a New York currency based off of the black hole of cigarettes that exists here. Since my time in New York City, I’ve noticed that smoking is more common than chewing gum. Even I found myself to be going through a pack, at double the price, in half the time . The city urges you to smoke. It tempts you at every moment. The smell lingers in every crack and crevice of concrete and asphalt. Cigarettes became as valuable as a pack of goldfish at the lunch table trade. An alternative currency. In creating and designing my own currency I used this observation as the basis for my theme.
GUILLOCHE STUDY 1 GUILLOCHE STUDY 2
Through the design process I was influenced specifically by the guilloche technique that is used as the defining quality of money, internationally. The way that lines, geometry, and direction intersected to form such beautiful patterns is something I wanted to incorporate into the final design.
INITIAL DESIGN
COLOR STUDIES
COLOR STUDY 1 COLOR STUDY 2
In assigning color schemes to the design, I took from the tobacco company, American Spirits. Their campaign is based off their use of “All Natural” materials and “Organic” tobacco. They boast their loyalty to the environment and the importance of sustainability in their products and manufacturing. This can even be seen in their choice of using colors to differentiate different packs (ie. yellow, light blue, turquoise, etc.) referencing nature and an organic color palette.
In my own design. I used images of the Grand Canyon and Denali National Park as influence in establishing color palette for each color study.
COLOR STUDY 1
–DENALI NATIONAL PARK
COLOR STUDY 2
–GRAND CANYON
FINAL DESIGNS
BACK
FRONT
