ODD JOBS

Designing money
Identität, Sicherheit, Politik: Worauf es wirklich
ankommt, wenn man als Designer Banknoten entwirft.

Interview: RACHEL PREECE

EASY PLUS

I
worked in advertising for 20 years before joining
Giesecke+Devrient in the design department.
G+D provides secure payment solutions, includ-
ing banknote design. You can’t study banknote
design at university, but most people in this field
have a background in graphic design and spend years
learning the craft. It takes so long because there are
many different aspects: the technical elements of MARC MITTELSTAEDT is
banknote security and the designs that showcase a
the head of design, banknote
solutions, at Giesecke+Devrient.
country’s identity. The intercultural aspect of bank-
He has worked for the company
note design is especially interesting and important. since 2009
We collaborate with the central bank to discuss
the client’s needs. Sometimes, there are specific ele-
ments they want to include. As banknote designers,
we need to consider security, but we often have cre-
ative freedom in terms of design, at least to some ex-
“Different cultures
tent. There are certain limitations. All banknotes are
part of a series, so we can’t start from scratch when
adding a new one. Also, we must ensure that the de-
interpret symbols and
sign is politically correct. We’ve never been asked to
depict something we disagree with, but we need to
be mindful of this, especially as different cultures in-
colours differently”
terpret symbols and colours differently.
Some central banks, like Norway’s, do surveys
among their citizens to collect ideas for banknote
designs. It’s our responsibility to make sure those
ideas are suitable. First, we do extensive research
and consider various design elements — there are
often adjustments to be made. The banknote design
phase itself takes about four weeks, which includes
finalizing security features. Then, we spend another
four weeks preparing the final product and six weeks
preparing the printing plates. In total, including all department depict sth. feature
, Abteilung , etw. darstellen, abbilden , Merkmal, Aspekt
the discussions, it takes about a year to introduce a
Fotos: JAN SCHUENKE/ Gieseke & Devrient PR

craft , Handwerk mindful: be ~ of sth. printing plate

completely new banknote, although updates to a
, etw. bedenken , Druckplatte
currency take less time. showcase sth.
, etw. aufzeigen, survey [(s§:veI] currency [(kVrEnsi]
We work in a diverse environment, and no two präsentieren , Umfrage , Währung
days are the same. Each day is full of surprises as
in terms of suitable environment
we refine the details in the storytelling aspect — as , im Hinblick auf , geeignet, passend [In(vaI&rEnmEnt]
a designer, I find that the most fascinating phase. I , hier: Umfeld
start from scratch research [ri(s§:tS]
don’t have a favourite banknote; they are all like my , bei Null anfangen , Recherche(n) refine sth.
children. How could I choose which one is the most , etw. präzisieren,
ensure sth. [In(SO:] adjustment
verbessern
beautiful? , etw. sicherstellen , Änderung, Korrektur

CAREERS 12/2023 Business Spotlight 33