In the early 20th century, Germany faced wartime currency shortages and later, hyperinflation and the collapse of their currency. As a result, the country issued notgeld (German for “emergency money” or “necessity money”). These notgeld were beautifully illustrated with various themes, often political. This is a modern take of my own notgeld. It is hand-lettered with influences from the1970’s punk aesthetic that fused art and political activism as well as Pop Art from the 1950’s.
The process of the project started with finding a real piece of notgeld and digitally replicating it as close as possible. This step gave me an understanding how to digitally develop type, colors, patterns, and textures that accurately depict the classic notgeld, and helped me to continue the trend onto my new notgeld. The piece below on the left is an original white silk 500 issued by the City bank of Bielefeld, Germany in 1922. On the right is my digitally rendered replica.
Original notgeld Replicated notgeld
My newly created notgeld "Lip Service"
