This is a banknote design project that the Central Bank of Norway collaborated with architecture and design studio Snøhetta, graphic design studio Metric Design, and illustrator Terje Tønnessen from 2014 to 2019. Instead of featuring historical figures from existing banknotes, this attempt centered around the symbolic theme of the 'sea' signified a more democratic starting point for the visual world.
The core concept of the new banknote design is the beauty of boundaries. Snøhetta captures the visual tension and harmony that occurs at the point where sea and land, sky and sea meet, inspired by ancient mosaics and digital pixel art. The design visualizes the boundary between tradition and innovation by mixing organic wave patterns and intricate pixel structures. This combination expresses a temporal layering that seems to travel between analog and digital, past and present.
Each note is composed using the visual language of the Beaufort scale, which measures wind speed. The 50 krone note represents a calm wind, while the 1,000 krone note represents a strong wind. The 50 krone, with its densely arranged cubic pixels, symbolizes a calm sea breeze with a soft, flowing wave pattern, while the 1,000 krone, with its long blocks of pixels and rough waves, visualizes the tension of strong winds.
One side of the banknote features Snøhetta’s design, while the other side features Metric’s design and Terje Tønesen’s graphics. While one side uses a language of symbols and abstraction, the other side balances this with concrete and realistic expressions. These two visual approaches have been adjusted to the central bank’s strict security requirements and are designed to be both functional and beautiful.
