In order to understand more about the topic of money, I also did a practical review to study the existing projects. The main purpose of a practical review is to find out what is already designed in the current market and how we may improve for the future.
Below are the cases that I have studied:
Exhibition Design ✨
Reciprociti Bank
This is an interactive installation in London's Design Museum to challenge the public on the future of finance, in a tangible way. The designer created everything you can find in a bank with a difference. From cash, credit card to card reader and ATM, he changed the form of them in order to let audiences reimagine finance in the future.
I think this is a good example, which clearly shows changing finance experience by changing the form of exiting products. I like the way how the designer thinks about redesigning the credit card as a payment ruler, protest card and social spending card. It fits various scenarios of using credit cards. I would say if this project can also consider the digital money of mobile phone, it will be great to see how to design digital money in a different form and let people experience in a real space, like an interactive exhibition. It also drives me to think about should I consider designing an exhibition for my topic?
Experiment Design ✨
Method Money
This is an experimental design by the creative agency - Method. They ran an exploratory research project on the future of money using an insights-led approach to speculative design. The project used trend analysis and ethnographic research to inspire future scenarios. They sought to bring the future into the present and create social experiments in which possible futures could be lived and experienced to stimulate critical discussion.
I like their approaches of how they develop speculative experiments for users. The research area they have chosen are "Privacy", "Personality" and " The Body". In the beginning, I don't think money can have various personalities because money is just presenting the amount behind the goods and capitals. But after studying their project. I think of the personality of different currencies in different countries. When all our money becomes digital, currencies become just numbers. What are we missing? We lose the printed history and illustration on all coins and banknotes from different countries, those are representing money personality.
Product Design ✨
Scrip device
This is a concept gadget that gives digital currency a real money feel. "Scrip" is designed to explore how we might interact more meaningfully with our digital currency. In the research, they found out people assign more value to items that they purchase with cash. They designed this gadget, which people can touch and feel when they are making transactions of their digital money.
I think this is a project that has the same beliefs as my topic. No doubt, Apply Pay, Square and Monzo, etc are successfully reducing friction between the user and the transaction. It makes us use our money easier. However, it is not always good for people who are spending because they are losing a tangible connection to money, which may cause them to spend more than they expect. This project gives me insights into how to design a product that could be an opportunity of getting money feeling back.
Please have a look at the next blog for further progress.
References 📖
Howarth, D., 2016. Newdealdesign's Scrip Device Brings Tactility To Digital Payments. [online] Dezeen. Available at: <https://www.dezeen.com/2016/09/22/new-deal-design-gadi-amit-scrip-device-tactility-digital-payments/> [Accessed 18 September 2020].
Method.com. 2014. [online] Available at: <https://www.method.com/work/method-money/#:~:text=Method%20ran%20an%20exploratory%20research,research%20to%20inspire%20future%20scenarios.&text=Personality%3A%20If%20money%20were%20smart%2C%20would%20it%20have%20personality%3F> [Accessed 18 September 2020].
Stevenson-Keating, P., 2014. Reciprociti Bank. [online] Studiopsk.com. Available at: <https://www.studiopsk.com/reciprocitibank.html> [Accessed 18 September 2020].