On Tuesday, The Bank of England announced the new £5 note to the public. The new plastic fiver is being launched in England and Wales, but most people may have to wait up to a week to get one. Check it out below:
The new polymer note – which is much more durable than the old fiver – will initially only be available from a handful of banks and cashpoints. However, most bank branches are expected to have the notes within a week or so, suggesting those who want to obtain one may have to go into a bank and ask for one.
“The use of polymer means it can better withstand being repeatedly folded into wallets or scrunched up inside pockets, and can also survive a spin in the washing machine,” according to The governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney. Despite this, the notes are not completely indestructible. The polymer notes are expected to last an average of five years – compared to the current note’s two years.
The note comes with new security features – such as a transparent window – to make it harder to counterfeit.
Compared to our previous currency, the design of the new note looks clean and crisp. The polymer material and transparent window has allowed the Bank of England to take a bolder approach to the design with more clear space to allow the design to breath. This places more emphasis on the characters of The Queen on the front and the iconic image of Winston Churchill in front of the maze at Blenheim Palace (his birthplace) on the back.
This also introduces the Bank of England’s new augmented reality campaign with Blippar. Once users have downloaded the app, they can point their smartphone camera at a physical £5 – and watch it transform into the new fiver in their hands!
The launch of the note was accompanied by a new website designed by Cyber Duck that goes into detail about the new notes design and security features, and a full tribute to the life and work of Sir Winston Churchill.
There’s some great use of iconography throughout the site which helps to break up the information into bit sized chunks. The interface of the site looks great. The use of video, a 360° view of the new note, and parallax scrolling makes a welcome change for a website of this nature.
Overall, this has been a well thought out and well executed campaign by the Bank of England.
The fiver is the first of a series of new note launches which will see Jane Austen on the £10 in the Summer of next year and JMW Turner on the £20 note by 2020.
David Huskison
David is the founder of DWH and is involved in all aspects of the design process from the initial creative concept through to final artwork stage. With over 20 years of experience working with agencies across the Midlands, his role is to provide significant creative injection into client projects. By personally delivering creative concepts, he ensures that client briefs are effectively executed and that the final project is delivered within budget.