The State QuartersWhy are they so ugly? A slide show.

Notes From The Fray Editor I:

A little guidance may be in order here. Moneybox is very busy with three articles in two days, so people may appear to be talking at cross purposes. MSN fronted the piece on college savings plans; the state quarters piece went up this morning and a Sallie Mae article goes up this afternoon. Discussions of all three articles will be going on simultaneously. (This is the kind of thing that leads to a Fray redesign.)

Notes From The Fray Editor II:

This Fray is very active now that the article has shown up on MSN. Some actually like the look of the state quarters. Nutmeggers were out in force to hype their sylvan quarter.

Q: Will the quarters become better looking or at least weirder as they represent more Western states? A glance at the otherwise mind-numbing state statues (The National Statuary Hall Collection) in the Capitol provides some hints. Will Utah go with the bland beehive or the fantasmagorical Philo T. Farnsworth? Will Hawaii give us Diamondhead or Father Damien? Can Colorado come up with something as comfy as Florence Sabin?

Todd Childers offers some insight into how the "art by committee" process worked in Ohio.

Remarks From The Fray:
I teach Graphic Design at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. The design department at the BGSU School of Art was contacted by the State of Ohio to submit designs for the state quarter project.

We were asked to create designs dealing with Ohio's contribution to flight/aviation along with other non-aviation themes such as Thomas Edison and agriculture. Specific examples of the Wright brothers, John Glen, Neil Armstrong and the light bulb were strongly suggested as possible themes. It was also emphasized that the designs should include an outline of the state.

We were required to submit our art in such a way that the committee could move our art around to suit their tastes. For example, one image would be placed on one sheet of acetate. The next image would be on another sheet of acetate. The number of acetate sheets would vary depending upon how many images were in the design. Lastly, there would be a background representing the outline of the quarter itself.

In my 15 years of professional graphic design practice I have never been asked to submit a design in such a way!

Nevertheless, I submitted one design that I was very proud of. This design addressed aviation by juxtaposing the past and more recent history by taking a large image of an Apollo astronaut's helmet that nearly fills the surface of the quarter. Reflected upon the mirrored surface of helmet's visor is the 1903 Wright airplane flying over the surface of the moon.

My submission was rejected because it was deemed unproduceable. Apparently the design that was chosen was not picked for artistic, creative, or dramatic merit. It was picked because it was obvious and "produceable"!

In private sector design situations the client selects a design on its merit. If technical problems exist in the first proposal the designer modifies the design to address the requests of the client. This approach is not necessarily a long drawn out process! A solution is often reached in one or two meetings. I have no doubt that the technical weaknesses of my design could have been easily addressed! Dismissing a design on technical production issues alone is, to use a cliche, like throwing the baby out with the bath water!

-- Todd Childers

(To reply, click here.)

For my kids the most interesting objects in the penny jar are the foreign coins and currency that I never quite managed to spend before coming home. I suspect foreigners who visit the U.S. have a similar experience when they unpack. Even for the non-packrat, non-collector, there is something wrong about throwing money away. So I can't help but smile when I think of how a child in China, Iran, Cuba, etc... will study The Old Man of the Mountain on New Hampshire's quarter. Some might find him, most wont. Either way, they will eventually turn to their parents for confirmation or help in the form of a translation of the inscription on the design and the big, bold words just next to it, "LIVE FREE OR DIE."

-- Ender

(To reply, click here.)

…and the peach looks like a butt. Yes, some of the quarters are ugly and cluttered. Art by committee has never been a good idea.

But I find some of them quite appealing and there's more interest in them than in the golden dollar much to the government's dismay.

-- Persephone

(To reply, click here.)

(9/4)

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