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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Numismaverick, post: 1461095, member: 38560&quot;]<b>2p or not 2p</b></p><p><br /></p><p>Bit late to this thread, but I hope nobody minds.</p><p><br /></p><p>I did loads of work on the psychology of coin design while I was at the Royal Mint - even working with social scientists at Microsoft.</p><p><br /></p><p>Constantly changing coins designs throws out an unusual paradox.</p><p><br /></p><p>Coins and currency have been a part of our social makeup for so long that they have become archetypal symbols. In the case of very long standing designs, they take on a meaning outside of their purpose.</p><p>As an illustration of this, take 2 disparate sets of symbols - Tarot cards, and DVD player controls.</p><p><br /></p><p>Karl Jung proposed the theory that Tarot works not by means of the mystical, but because the symbols used on the cards are so old, and so ingrained in human conciousness, that we understand their meaning instinctively, and that during a Tarot reading, one is &#039;meditating&#039;, and tapping into subconcious thought, which is then drawn out by the ancient images on the cards.</p><p><br /></p><p>A modern example of archetypal imagery is the operational symbols on the front of DVD players - stop, eject, fast forward etc.</p><p>We have been familiar with these symbols for years, and in many different guises - CD, DVD, MP3 player, video, even cassette. The meaning of the symbol is clear, regardless of the medium it refers to.</p><p>These operational symbols can even be taken out of context, and still retain meaning - an artists can use the &#039;stop&#039;, or &#039;eject&#039; symbols for social commentary within a piece of work - nothing whatsoever to do with the original operational function, but still retaining a meaning outside of that.</p><p><br /></p><p>Where this becomes interesting with coins is when designs change on old coins. When we re-designed the UK general currency, we realised that the design of the 2 pence coin was far more than simply an image of the Prince of Wales feathers and some text. Removing the traditional image from the 2p effectively stopped us seeing it as being a 2p. The whole was, indeed, greater than the sum of its parts.</p><p><br /></p><p>For long standing coins, the design and the physicality of the object become one. We recognise them because our brains process the amalgamation of elements, rather than pinpointing any particular detail.</p><p>Re-designing a long standing coin requires an ability to deconstruct the original into its component concepts, and then re-build it in such a way that the user&#039;s connection with the coin does not hinge on the decorative design.</p><p><br /></p><p>As a really neat example, have a look at the Pepper Project&nbsp; <b><a href="http://pepperproject.imaginaryfs.com/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://pepperproject.imaginaryfs.com/" rel="nofollow">http://pepperproject.imaginaryfs.com/</a></b>&nbsp; The concept behind this was to create a muse - an imaginary person with a set of core attributes that could then be illustrated in any number of forms. The project was thrown open to the public, and the results are great - a multitude of wildly disparate images, yet all still held together by a common thread. The essence of the subject is not defined purely by rendering or decoration.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Matt</p><p>mavericknumismatics.com[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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