Possible redesign of U.S. currency

Saw this just now, looks pretty cool.
It seems rather out of the blue though, and I don't think now is the right time to be redesigning currency.

 Spoiler

The American dollar is in bad need of a makeover. Thanks to the Dollar ReDe$ign Project, we may now have some options.
Organized by creative strategy consultant Richard Smith, the Dollar ReDe$ign Project is soliciting ideas for the dollar bill of the future. "Our great 'rival', the Euro, looks so spanky in comparison it seems the only clear way to revive this global recession is to rebrand and redesign," the project notes on its website.
Fisher started the project in with the intent of "trying to find a catalyst to restart our economy" he told Fox News. The recent competition is now closed, and voting ends on September 30. "This has touched people's hearts," Fisher said, and "people feel the dollar touches their lives."
The leading vote-getter for this year's competition (pictured below) was submitted by British duo Dowling Duncan, which features a unique vertical design.

Why a vertical format? "When we researched how notes are used we realized people tend to handle and deal with money vertically rather than horizontally," they note on the Dollar ReDe$ign Project's website. "You tend to hold a wallet or purse vertically when searching for notes. The majority of people hand over notes vertically when making purchases. All machines accept notes vertically. Therefore a vertical note makes more sense."
Mark Gartland submitted the entry below, entitled "America Today." The $50 bill features (pictured below) Sacagawea, the native American Indian who acted as Lewis and Clark's interepreter and guide. Noting the "cosmetic drabness" of the current dollar bill, Gartland selected various historical icons from including Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln and President Obama to represent the "diverse fabric" of the U.S.

Self-taught web designer Sean Flanagan submitted "Moving Forward, Looking Back," (below) which hews to many of "base color, size and orientation" of the classic dollar bill, but offers more than a few pleasant upgrades. Flanagan also utilized only American-designed typefaces and says his design would require at least "three different layers of solid ink," a preemptive strike against counterfeiting.

If these money makeovers weren't enough, The Dollar ReDe$ign Project has even circulated a petition to get the U.S. government to seriously consider their ideas. Which of these designs is your favorite?

Every time I visited a foreign country, I was amazed by their currency. "Mom, why is our money green and only green?" I'm really excited for a currency make over.

I like the vertical idea, and I love the multicolor idea, but I want to see more natural stuff. Instead of old guys no one cares about and even older buildings, we should have influential people on one side and something majestic on the other. FDR on a bill is a good idea. Native American tribes is a good idea. The Eagle is a good idea. Obama... eh, not so good of an idea. Lincoln and Truman have done way more than he has or - most likely - ever will.

America is known for it's "big"ness, so I think stuff like Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon, the Rocky Mountains, the Red Wood Forest, et cetera should be on the bills.

As for people: Truman, FDR, and Lincoln as presidents. Who else shaped America? Einstein? The Beatles? I'd like to see more than just politicians on the bills, and I'd like to keep people currently alive off unless they did something truly amazing.

Every time I visited a foreign country, I was amazed by their currency. "Mom, why is our money green and only green?" I'm really excited for a currency make over.

I like the vertical idea, and I love the multicolor idea, but I want to see more natural stuff. Instead of old guys no one cares about and even older buildings, we should have influential people on one side and something majestic on the other. FDR on a bill is a good idea. Native American tribes is a good idea. The Eagle is a good idea. Obama... eh, not so good of an idea. Lincoln and Truman have done way more than he has or - most likely - ever will.

America is known for it's "big"ness, so I think stuff like Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon, the Rocky Mountains, the Red Wood Forest, et cetera should be on the bills.

As for people: Truman, FDR, and Lincoln as presidents. Who else shaped America? Einstein? The Beatles? I'd like to see more than just politicians on the bills, and I'd like to keep people currently alive off unless they did something truly amazing.

Yeah definitely. I'd rather have more than just politicians on the bills, needs more old pop culture because thats what helped make America.

I don't want obama on my currency, he hasn't done a single thing.

healthcare reform was a Joke, it has way too many loopholes for private companies and no socialized healthcare (A.k.a the public option )
and the latest thing is the lie about pulling our troops out . goto huffingtonpost if you want to know what I'm talking about.

I'd rather they put someone whos done something worth being immortalized on the 1$ bill . however I approve of the $100 bill having Franklin.D.Roosevelt.

Wow, I would love designs like that to replace our old doodoo-green bills. These look so modern.

I think that the verticle bill could be a good idea, but do all the bills have to be different legnths? That seems more inconvenient. Whatever the redesign is, it should be the same size as our current currency.

The $100 is the largest, so it's easier for people to pull it out of your wallet!

I don't see much point in redesigning our currency though. To me, money is a number, not an object. Besides, I can probably get fancy-colored credit/debit cards all I want.

It seems rather out of the blue though, and I don't think now is the right time to be redesigning currency.

Which would be why it's not something that's actually happening.
As the article itself says;

The Dollar ReDe$ign Project has even circulated a petition to get the U.S. government to seriously consider their ideas.

This has as much legitimacy and validity as the art design projects posted in the funhouse and open canvas.

@Kabanaw
Close your eyes. Try handing the cashier a single.

@Kabanaw
Close your eyes. Try handing the cashier a single.

if you organize your money you'd be able to.

if you organize your money you'd be able to.

Different sizes is more convenient for the blind, who today tend to fold their bills into different sizes/patterns based on what they rely on other people telling them they are.

@Kabanaw
Close your eyes. Try handing the cashier a single.

The thing is, when would I ever have to do this? Yes, if I ever became blind, but I doubt I'd be able to tell the difference between a 1 and a 5 for sure. I'd probably resort to folding my money into patterns, like Eosian said many blind people do.

The thing is, when would I ever have to do this? Yes, if I ever became blind, but I doubt I'd be able to tell the difference between a 1 and a 5 for sure. I'd probably resort to folding my money into patterns, like Eosian said many blind people do.

If we can remove trusting other people from the equation, I see no reason not to. Slightly different sized bills would definitely be a step in the right direction, but as previously stated, these ideas aren't going anywhere. If any part of the government begins supporting a money redesign, it'd be a matter of seconds before political opponents or disgruntled citizens begin complaining that there are more important matters to be dealt with.

If any part of the government begins supporting a money redesign, it'd be a matter of seconds before political opponents or disgruntled citizens begin complaining that there are more important matters to be dealt with.

Especially we literally just did one.

Especially we literally just did one.

You're talking about the hideous new $100 bills, right? I sure hope those didn't cost too much money to redesign.

The thing is, when would I ever have to do this? Yes, if I ever became blind, but I doubt I'd be able to tell the difference between a 1 and a 5 for sure. I'd probably resort to folding my money into patterns, like Eosian said many blind people do.

It benefits blind people more than it hinders you,

You're talking about the hideous new $100 bills, right? I sure hope those didn't cost too much money to redesign.

No, they redid every single US coin and bill in a staggered fashion.
http://www.newmoney.gov/currency/history.htm

Two or three times since 1996.

You're talking about the hideous new $100 bills, right? I sure hope those didn't cost too much money to redesign.

It's a slight modification to the same old design, not redesigning it from the ground. I wouldn't consider what the US has been doing to it's currency over the past few years a "make over". More of "Let's change stuff just enough to throw off counterfeiters, but not enough to change the core design".

It benefits blind people more than it hinders you,

But as I said before, is it really possible to tell 100% if what you're holding is a 1 dollar bill or a 5 dollar bill? I know that blind people's senses are heightened, but is it really possible to tell the difference between a 4 inch piece of paper and an inch and a half?

[video=youtube;77C47XYm_3c]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77C47XYm_3c[/video]

Change pennies to <3