Articles

The Gorgeous Redesigned Banknotes of Norway

by . October 12th, 2014

Featuring both traditional and modern motif, the newly unveiled banknotes of Norway are literally works of art.

The redesigned Norwegian kroner will highlight images by architecture firm Snøhetta and Oslo-based graphic design company The Metric System. A variety of eight designers were asked to submit their proposal – “the sea” as the theme – by the central bank of Norway, Norges Bank, and the winning design will be produced and put into use in 2017.

On one side of the banknote are designs by Snøhetta. This architecture firm has designed some of the country’s recognizable infrastructures like the Oslo Opera House, a contemporary architecture that looks like an iceberg seeping into the Oslofjord beneath it. Their design for the krone notes feature images of the Norwegian coastline, distorted and pixellated based on the Beaufort wind scale. Even squares for the 50 krone notes that represent gentle wind, and long stretches of color for the 1000 kroner to signify strong wind.

The Beauty of Boundaries - Snøhetta
The Beauty of Boundaries – Snøhetta

The Metric System’s series called “The Living Spaces” was selected for the other side of the krone notes. It will showcase traditional and iconic Norwegian images – a Viking ship, a lighthouse, and a fish – plus the necessary anti-counterfeiting watermarks and serial numbers. To avoid confusion as they switch to the new design, the colors used for each denomination is based on the current color scheme of Norway’s bills.

50 100 200 500 1000 This ain’t the first time that art has been put into the kroner. The current 1000 kroner note has a portrait of Norwegian painter Edvard Munch on one side and a part of his expressionist painting, “The Sun”, on the other side. This amazing redesign makes you want to just keep the banknotes and save them – lucky for those who are thrifty.

The Norges Bank also released an online catalogue where you may view all of the submitted motifs for the competition.

[ all images via snohetta.com & themetricsystem.no ]

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