Niki Marathia
Previous
Eat the rich
Week 5 of 5
Team
Food is more than fuel. Consider the ways that food is a medium of exchange when an influencer shares a plate of food on social media, when it is hoarded or witheld by those with power, when the desire for it is supplanted by a costly injection. In an age of dematerialisation, food remains stubbornly and emphatically physical, sensory, high-touch and frictional. Design a currency based on food.
Project partner: Revolut
Ayesha Saleem
Keya Bangera
Mary Mehtarizadeh
Niki Marathia
Steps

Having been told that we’re not showing how the individual bits of our research connect a few times over the past few weeks, we decided to show how each step led to the next through a flow chart. Entering the last week of the project, we were starting to think about our final presentation, for which we wanted to communicate our process clearly. 


Figure 1. Steps with learnings flow chart


Synthesis
Figure 2. Creative toolkit synthesis, drawn by Ayesha Saleem

Figure 3. Picking out design features for our banknotes, drawn by Ayesha Saleem

Sketches

We had a last look at the current Bank of England designs, to consider any features we may want to keep in our banknotes.

Figure 4. Front of the Queen Elizabeth II note Bank of England (2025) Polymer £20 note specimen front [Photograph]. Available at: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/polymer-20-pound-note (Accessed: 10 April 2026).
Figure 5. Back of the Queen Elizabeth II note Bank of England (2025) Polymer £20 note specimen back [Photograph]. Available at: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/polymer-20-pound-note (Accessed: 10 April 2026).

Figure 6. Concept sketches, drawn by Keya Bangera


Printmaking

To create our designs, we decided to explore printmaking techniques. After consulting the technicians at the printmaking workshop, we decided to go with gelli printing. We brought bananas, oranges, oats, fennel seeds, nigel seeds, leeks, onions, rocket leaves and cabbage to use as subjects for our banknotes.

Figure 7. Cabbage leaf
Figure 8. Leek
Figure 9. Rocket leaves

Figure 10. Preparing yellow ink
Figure 11. Layoung out oats on red
Figure 12. Leeks and onions on green
Figure 13. Banana & orange peel on blue

Figure 14. Blue gradient
Figure 15. Yellow gradient
Figure 16. Placing prints to dry
Figure 17. One of our red prints

Figure 18. Learning to emboss
Figure 19. Embossed rice on paper
Figure 20. All of our prints drying

Prints






























Debossing plates

Figure 21. Debossing plate, designed by Mary Mehtarizadeh
Figure 22. Laser cutting our plates

Bank notes

Figure 23. Our final designs, cut out and debossed


Figure 24. Red: 5 frounds | Blue: 10 frounds | Green: 20 frounds | Yellow: 50 frounds


Figure 25. Debossing detail


Video
Figure 26. Our teaser video, directed by Mary Mehtarizadeh and Ayesha Saleem

Presentation

Figure 27. Red banknotes and oats


Figure 29. Yellow banknotes and cabbage


Figure 31. Installation close up

Figure 28. Red prints close up


Figure 30. Yellow prints close up


Figure 32. Snippet of our final presentation


Feedback

•  Liked the use of textures, seeds, and natural elements.
•⁠  ⁠The presentation was clear and engaging.
•⁠  ⁠The printing technique used for the currency was interesting.
•⁠  ⁠There was a clear narrative/story to follow.
•⁠  ⁠The research and interviews we used were appreciated.
•⁠  ⁠It was good that we connected the concept to real-life situations.
•⁠  ⁠We need to check the correct size of the currency notes.
•⁠  ⁠Think about how the currency will be used and circulated.
•⁠  ⁠Add a clearer journey to help people understand the system.
•⁠  ⁠Consider whether people who grow food can exchange it for this currency.
•⁠  ⁠The tangible/physical aspect of the currency was liked.
•⁠  ⁠The prints and visual design looked beautiful.
•⁠  ⁠The user journey and blueprint were helpful.
•⁠  ⁠When we are more explicit and clear, the idea becomes stronger.
•⁠  ⁠Explore how people can share seeds and leaves within the system.
•⁠  ⁠Think about what existing systems or practices this idea can connect to.
•⁠  ⁠Focus on moving from theory to real-life application.
•⁠  ⁠The idea doesn’t have to be perfect yet.
•⁠  ⁠Think about how this concept can become real in the future.
•⁠  ⁠The installation idea could help demonstrate the concept.
•⁠  ⁠If we had developed the concept  earlier, we could have tested it more in real life and refined the shape and technical details of the notes.

The project was well received on our presentation, with our industry partners praising us for highlighting the right parts of our process and communicating our journey effectively. We received some praise for our participatory methods from other industry partners too. 

Reflections

Realisation

Collaboration

Future

Sources

Bank of England (2025) £20 note, Bank of England. Available at: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/polymer-20-pound-note (Accessed: 10 April 2026).