Thursday, June 21, 2012

Will Miss #461 - great money design

I'm annoyed that I didn't have any other bills to show (because this was all I had left from my Japaense cash), but you can see more of them here

My in-laws recently returned from a trip to Spain and showed me the design of the Euro. It's pretty good because each bill is a different size and appeared to have various colors. This is compared to American cash which is all pretty much the same size and color. Japanese cash goes a step further than European money. Each bill is a different size and also has tactile dots to help the blind distinguish them (which may or may not be braille as I can't read it and verify that). The coins have different sizes, weights, and holes to help them further be more easily identified. American money must be a big pain for the blind because they have to rely on others honesty or have a trusted person sort out their cash.

My mother is blind, and I often appreciated the effort that was made into designing Japanese money such that it was easier to use for people with such a disability as well as harder to confuse for even sighted people. I will miss this daily reminder of consideration for those with this particular hardship.