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- Hacker News
- Why is it all either the same people or the same birds?
Was that an explicit part of the brief artists were given?
I feel like the selection of motifs is more interesting and where more of the creative process in defining a representation of Europe lies than just how to draw and layout those motifs.
by vrganj - Yeah, the motifs was probably part of the brief as picking the symbols to represent the entire EU is incredibly political and its just best to separate that discussion from the deeply subjective "what looks best" discussion.
- The people and birds (and I think the buildings as well) were selected by a committee beforehand, to make sure they represent all of the EU, aren't controversial, yadayada...by thyristan
- Yes, the motifs were selected ~1.5y ago: https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/pr/date/2025/html/ecb.pr2501...by klausa
- There were some clearly superior suggestions they left out: https://xcancel.com/The_Davos_Man/status/2080383908823081426
;)
by thyristan - You know, that actually isn't the worst idea! Putting tangible results of the EU on the Euro would constantly remember people that the EU isn't just some nameless and faceless bureaucrats doing busy-work in an office building in Brussels.
The cookie notification is of course a bit silly, but a "Thanks to the EU you'll never lose another bottle cap" or a "This standardized USB-C charger is brought to you by the EU" would do wonders for its PR.
by crote - I try to pay everything in cash as much as I can, so it's nice to see the banknotes get some love from the ECB (even though the absence of €1 and €2 banknotes still hurts…).
I think it's a bit strange to feature people on these, plus it would be difficult to agree on who to feature between the 21 € states. The birds look cool! But it would have been nice to modernize the current architecture-based design rather than feature random EU office buildings.
by timpera - Wow, I had to dig this deep down the thread to find a comment that doesn't sound grumpy and offended. It's just banknotes. Honestly.
- Me too, #NormalizeCash
Cash is freedom.
by rationalist - > absence of €1 and €2 banknotes
The US style? I much prefer the Japanese style instead (where €5 would be a coin instead of a note). When our largest coin is too small to buy a drink at a vending machine we've got a problem. ATMs don't turn over €5 notes anyway, so their existence is painfully awkward.
by tmtvl - > plus it would be difficult to agree on who to feature between the 21 € states.
What do you mean? Clearly they did agree, which is why we have those design proposals. Those aren’t random people chosen by the designers, they were in the brief.
https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/pr/date/2025/html/ecb.pr2501...
by latexr - Birds are clearly superior.by grim_io
- Birds are the way.by kaizenb
- I want someone to slap a blackbird on my bank notes. Preferably all denominations.by Hamuko
- Birds aren't real.by sunaookami
- Design H ftw
- I feel like birds are the superior front, but boring EU buildings are the worse back.
I'd like the birds front with the other option for the back (public squares or something?)
by vrganj - I don't like to have silhouettes instead of people on the back, and that buildings related to the current institutions are featured on so many designs
These are a current necessities, but nothing to sanctuarize for the future. The only thing that should remain stable in Europe are ideas, and the Swiss got it better on their notes
by hinata08 - I found it hard to vote just by saying "I like this design" for each one individually. Since we have a set of limited option, I'd rather compare and pick the ones I prefer in comparison of the others.
I helped Claude build a simple web app (static, local, oss) to make you choose among pairs, to progressively determine your personal preference.
It outputs your top 3, you can share the summary like this:
It's very WIP, but I found this approach useful to fill the survey, so why not shareRecto Verso Euro My top euro banknote designs: Design H Design D Design B → https://pil0u.github.io/recto-verso-euro/#r=HDBJIGECFA&c=68by pil0u - Added 20+ languages in the mix, based on the available languages in the surveyby pil0u
- Recto Verso Euro My favourite euro banknote designs: Design B Design H Design E → https://pil0u.github.io/recto-verso-euro/#r=BHECADFIGJ&c=100
Very cool, it made me realize I really like landscape designs which are generic.
by egeozcan - I scanned through it and settled on Design H as well, birds and buildings. One thing I started to notice while looking over the design that I had a strong preference for the number to be in the corners. The last two one are "portrait" which feels weird to me but might be more appealing to a younger generation.by pan69
- A) Front is nice, but I can't get over the shadow people in the backside
B) The most boring of the options. The tiny text with the bird facts should not be there.
C) Corporate hellscape.
D) wtf are those hands doing here
E) Again fronts look better than backs; fronts are very traditional bank-note to me.
F) Most interesting option. Certainly feels different than any other bank note I recall.
G) Ugh random vector shapes and gradients. Ugly in same ways as C)
H) Very inoffensive, very boring. Competing with B) in the most boring category.
I) Bit too much going on. The river map thing on the back side should be distinct in each note
J) The visual "sketchy" style just doesn't feel right here.
Ultimately F is visually my favourite although like many others I do dislike the "famous people" theme. Design I could be very nice with some tweaks
by zokier - While I don't really particularly like any of the designs, the F option is absolutely wild and I feel it would really make the Euro notes standout in the world. I don't know that it would make for a good bank note design, but it is visibly distinct.
The birds on J is incredibly beautiful, but that's somewhat offset by the building on the reverse.
by mrweasel - D) is notably the one mixing best vertical and horizontal view.
I guess we are used to a horizontal layout, some try to be bold with completely vertical but it won't be easy to identify in my wallet.
So I would grant D) that fine balance argument.
by simon84 - H) is my favorite. Nicely detailed birds, less crowded designs.
Anything with a face, I'm tired of that trope of banknote design.
by mhitza - I like the ones you find boring (but not the corporate Memphis ones) - money is a serious matter, so it's IMO supposed to look serious and a little boring.by ahartmetz
- I really dislike the back of the notes on pretty much all of them. Generic crowds of people with ugly backdrops, just feels very uninspired especially when some of the front designs are so boldby sensanaty
- I agree. There's one Da Vinci with the Vitruvian man on the back. The back should complement the front, right?by forinti
- Faces on Euro banknotes are a terrible idea. Even internationally well-known personalities are associated with certain countries, and you do not put things that represent specific countries on banknotes used in different countries.
The EU isn't a federation, and having a single currency doesn't make the eurozone any more so.
The buildings aren't as bad, being european insitution headquarters. However, as they aren't necessarily widely recognizable, they come out a bit self serving.
by CrLf