Sunday, April 06, 2008

Thinking Outside the Rim

Most designers would probably be thrilled to have the privilege of creating a postage stamp. But what about a coin, something they’ll be minting for a generation or two?

Or what if were an entire set of coins, one that’s destined to set a new standard in design, sculpture, and national identity?

How many designers have done that?

The latest in this rarefied group of designers is Matthew Dent of London, who won a public design competition by creating an absolutely stunning look for the UK’s new coins, blending traditional and contemporary imagery in a clever interactive way. And he’s only 26 years old.

You see, for the next several decades, everyone in the United Kingdom will at some point in their lives take the change out of their pocket and arrange the coins something like this:

Think about it, you see a few of these coins on your desk and you just can’t help moving them into the “right” position.

And to top it all off, the one pound coin reveals the entire design, which is a rendition of the “Royal Arms,” an icon that’s as symbolic to the UK as the bald eagle is to us in the United States.

Okay, I admit that most grown ups would probably have to be pretty bored to sit around and play with their money all the time. But believe me, every single day a new child somewhere in the UK will discover the allure of this puzzle and the magic of how their coins all fit together. They may even create games based upon this interesting design.

This isn’t just some 15 minutes of fame. This is something destined to become a part of the culture—and all because Matthew Dent thought outside the rim.

I don’t know where Matthew Dent works, but a friendly note to whoever employs him: You might want to give him that raise because I think he’s about to get some better offers real soon now.

I’m not a designer, of course, but when I was writing this post, I was thinking about trying to mock something up which would show how US coinage might appear in a similar form.

The trouble is that the Lincoln Memorial, Monticello, etc. aren’t universal enough. The only universal symbol I think might work would be the Great Seal with the eagle.

However, to follow Matthew’s design, one coin out of the set would basically have to depict the butt end of a bird – so that’s probably out.

On the other hand, we could go ahead and make that coin the penny. They’re so useless, I don’t think anyone would even care.

Posted by Richard Bloch

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