Studio Practice: OUGD505 - Studio Brief 01

Initial Designs

I wanted my bank note to keep an authentic and royal design but with a unique modern twist, something which enabled it to be completely differentiated from all the other bank notes out there. I started to analyse and brainstorm some ideas that would enable my bank note to be completely unique.

These included;

Watermark stamp held up to the light to show if the note was real but also included value.
One Pound notes to make change feel lighter in your pocket and eliminate pound coins out of circulation
A pure gold sheet £50 note
Updated £5 notes and £10 notes to match new £20 note design.
Create a thread that enables the stock to be completely indestructible.

After analysing each point i found that the best solution stated according to a problem I had evaluated was that bank notes can be ruined and aged. I found that english bank notes were able to be completely ripped in half. They can also be folded and scrunched and never retain their original shape.

Instantly the value is lost if it is completely damaged. The notes are also able to burn easily. What if your savings were burnt in a fire? Or your new puppy decided to chew up your wallet.

For this exact reason, is why money is becoming increasingly more electronic than ever that almost more than half of money doesn't actually exist. People believe that electronic money is more safe. I wanted tangible money to be just as safe as electronic money of not more to increase more of it back into circulation. I also wanted to stop forgery of bank notes so it was impossible to create fake bank notes.

Design Choices

1) Ink:

I made a stamp software pen which ran over the lion (Heraldry) on the new design of the bank note, which illuminates if the bank note is real. This is achieved by using a special ink which only note makers own and is very very secure and impossible to get hold of. The pen will be given to individuals of high importance who need to see if bank notes are real such as bankers and shop owners. The lion on my bank note design has been used as lions are commonly associated with fear to symbolise Britain as protected which links back to my concept of keeping these bank notes as safe as possible by using this special ink and pen to eliminate forgery. The lion is common charge in heraldry. It traditionally symbolises bravery, nobility, royalty strength, stateliness, and valour, because historically it has been regarded as the king of beasts which related back to our countries power and status within the world.

2) Stock:

I noticed that bank notes can be damaged easily, specifically ripped in half. I wanted to create a stock that was completely indestructible to being ripped in half. I came up with the idea of using thread to act as an almost fabric like stock but with the use of paper too. The strong thin thread would be cross hatched and then diagonally hatched across. The process is shown below using sketches. If the stock is attempted to be ripped the threads would serve in all angles to prevent this. Two sheets of paper will then be glued over the the cross hatch with the design on each of the pages. Silver would be used for the lower values such as £5 and £10 and then gold for £20 and £50 pound notes as the thin layers of paper with the design on over the top would have small incisions on the left hand side of the design to let the gold or silver thread show throw to create more visual appeal.

Final Design

I decided to screen print my final bank note design using two colours. I designed a £20 pound note design as I researched that this was the most common bank note used as this would enable it to be tested for its durability more accurately.

I researched into some existing bank notes on Pinterest to get some inspiration.

I created the basis of the design using the ink and stock ideas which included the cross catching and the lion which is stated above. The rest of the design I wanted to be timeless and classic and be representative of english culture and and hereditary. The United kingdoms map map was added to celebrate the United kingdoms territory and province. This also enables it to be instantly recognised as a british bank note. I used Monotype Covorsia as the main title "BANK OF ENGLAND" as it was a serif font it creates connotations of sophistication and links back to english literature typography along with tradition and history. It was also used in capitals and at the top of the note to create importance in hierarchy and to ensure it is the first thing that is read as it is the most important piece of information. The same type was used for £20 but was increased in size to also symbolise importance. Twenty Pounds was then stated underneath the Uppercase text in lower case to confirm the value of the note in a scripted sans serif font named Loon Old Style. This typeface was used to compliment the other type and make it visually stimulating and appealing.

I chose the colours purple and gold to promote royal colour connotations as these colours are frequently used in royalty on various garments and even crowns. The purple was also used as it was a £20 pound note and the existing £20 bank note is purple so consumers are able to easily recognise the value without confusion. The same will go for the rest of the note values, £5 green/turquoise and £10 orange etc.

As I had only ever screen printed once before, the process took me a little longer than expected. Screen printing is arguably the most versatile of all printing processes. It can be used to print on a wide variety of substrates, including paper, paperboard, plastics, glass, metals, fabrics, and many other materials. including paper, plastics, glass, metals, nylon and cotton. Some common products from the screen printing industry include posters, labels, decals, signage, and all types of textiles and electronic circuit boards. The advantage of screenprinting over other print processes is that the press can print on substrates of any shape, thickness and size.

A significant characteristic of screen printing is that a greater thickness of the ink can be applied to the substrate than is possible with other printing techniques. This allows for some very interesting effects that are not possible using other printing methods. Because of the simplicity of the application process, a wider range of inks and dyes are available for use in screen printing than for use in any other printing process.

Utilization of screenprinting presses has begun to increase because production rates have improved. This has been a result of the development of the automated and rotary screenprinting press, improved dryers, and U.V. curable ink. The major chemicals used include screen emulsions, inks, and solvents, surfactants, caustics and oxidizers used in screen reclamation. The inks used vary dramatically in their formulations.

Screen Printing Process

Screen printing consists of three elements: the screen which is the image carrier; the squeegee; and ink. The screen printing process uses a porous mesh stretched tightly over a frame made of wood or metal. Proper tension is essential to accurate color registration. The mesh is made of porous fabric or stainless steel mesh. A stencil is produced on the screen either manually or photochemically. The stencil defines the image to be printed in other printing technologies this would be referred to as the image plate.

Screen printing ink is applied to the substrate by placing the screen over the material. Ink with a paint-like consistency is placed onto the top of the screen. Ink is then forced through the fine mesh openings using a squeegee that is drawn across the scree, applying pressure thereby forcing the ink through the open areas of the screen. Ink will pass through only in areas where no stencil is applied, thus forming an image on the printing substrate. The diameter of the threads and the thread count of the mesh will determine how much ink is deposited onto the substrates.

Many factors such as composition, size and form, angle, pressure, and speed of the blade (squeegee) determine the quality of the impression made by the squeegee. At one time most blades were made from rubber which, however, is prone to wear and edge nicks and has a tendency to warp and distort. While blades continue to be made from rubbers such as neoprene, most are now made from polyurethane which can produce as many as 25,000 impressions without significant degradation of the image.

If the item was printed on a manual or automatic screen press the printed product will be placed on a conveyor belt which carries the item into the drying oven or through the UV curing system. Rotary screen presses feed the material through the drying or curing system automatically. Air drying of certain inks, though rare in the industry, is still sometimes utilised.

Screen Preparation

Screen (or image transfer) preparation includes a number of steps. First the customer provides the screen printer with objects, photographs, text, ideas, or concepts of what they wish to have printed. The printer must then transfer a "picture" of the artwork (also called "copy") to be printed into an "image" (a picture on film) which can then be processed and eventually used to prepare the screen stencil.

Once the artwork is transferred to a positive image that will be chemically processed onto the screen fabric (applying the emulsion or stencil) and eventually mounted onto a screen frame that is then attached to the printing press and production begins.

Gold ink Positive