QUICK RANT ON DESIGN

THIS IS SOMETHING THAT ACTUALLY TOOK PLACE LAST YEAR, BUT FOR SOME REASON I FELT COMPELLED TO WRITE ABOUT IT TODAY. WHATEVER, RIGHT?

IT’S ABOUT SOMETHING THAT’S QUITE DEAR TO MY HEART - DESIGN. AND I WHEN I SPEAK ABOUT DESIGN, I DON’T JUST MEAN DESIGN IN THE VISUAL SENSE. I’M NOT A DESIGNER PER SE, SEEING AS HOW I CAN’T DRAW OR PHOTOSHOP ETC FOR SHIT, BUT I AM AN ENTHUSIAST OR AT THE VERY LEAST KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT IT BY PARTICIPATION, INSTINCT AND STUDY.

TODAY I TOOK A REALLY CLOSE LOOK AT THE NEW PHILIPPINE PESO COINS THAT STARTED CIRCULATION LAST MARCH 2018. AND UPON EVEN A CURSORY LOOK, I JUST DON’T UNDERSTAND THE THOUGHT PROCESS BEHIND THE NEWLY DESIGNED COINS.

IF YOU LOOK AT THEM THROUGH THESE UP-CLOSE PICTURES, I GUESS THE NEW DESIGN SORT OF MAKES SENSE. YOU CAN SEE CLEARLY THAT THE FIVE PESO COIN IS ANDRES BONIFACIO WITH THE TAYABAK, AND THE ONE PESO COIN IS JOSE RIZAL WITH THE WALING-WALING.

THING IS THOUGH… IN REAL LIFE, YOU DON’T GET THE LUXURY OF LOOKING AT THEM FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME. WHEN YOU HANDLE COINS IT’S USUALLY IN A BIT OF A RUSH, FIGURING OUT IF YOU SHOULD PUT THEM IN YOUR POCKET OR ELSEWHERE, OR WHATEVER. WITH THE NEW COIN DESIGNS, YOU CAN HARDLY TELL WHICH IS WHICH IN A HURRY.

IT GETS EVEN MORE IMPERCEPTIBLE WITH THE SMALLER DENOMINATIONS.

I MEAN, THEY HAVE ALMOST IDENTICAL FRONT AND BACK DESIGNS. HOW IN THE HELL ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO DISCERN WHICH IS WHICH WITHOUT LIKE FLIPPING THEM AROUND AND ALL THAT AND LOOKING SUPER CLOSELY?

AS A COMPARISON, I’D JUST LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT THREE OF THE OLDER COINS.

REALLY EASY TO IDENTIFY. THE ONE PESO IS SILVER. THE FIVE PESO IS BRONZE. THE TEN PESO IS BRONZE WITH A SILVER BORDER.

ALL OF THIS IS NOT TO SAY THAT I’M AGAINST RENEWAL OF DESIGNS, OR TRYING TO IMPROVE UPON THINGS, BUT IT HAS TO MAKE SENSE IN SOME WAY. THERE ARE PROBABLY SOME REASONS UNKNOWN TO ME AS TO WHY THE NEW COINS ARE ALL LIKE THIS - MAYBE THEY ARE MORE DIFFICULT TO COUNTERFEIT OR SOMETHING. THIS IS A VERY STRANGE RANT.

BUT I GUESS WHAT I’M TRYING TO SAY IS THAT MAYBE LOST IN THE RENEWAL OF THE COINS’ LOOKS IS THAT PERHAPS THE DESIGNERS FORGOT THE NUMBER ONE RULE THAT EVERY GOOD DESIGNER SHOULD ALREADY KNOW: DESIGN IS NOT JUST HOW IT LOOKS, BUT HOW IT WORKS.