from squirrel to mackerel, the royal bank of scotland celebrates nature and culture in their currency

an unusual representation of banknotes recently being introduced by the royal bank of scotland.

the bank had their notes remained unchanged for 30 years. thus applying the idea to develop a series of notes that celebrate what is currently on-demand, especially on what is related to scottish culture and heritage, is essential.

for the third in the series developed by a team of scottish creatives; the edinburgh design agency nile, glasglow studio o street, and currency specialist de la rue, the nation has launched their latest fabric of its £20 banknotes featuring the typography to the illustrated animals which hoped to represent something meaningful to the people of scotland.

to celebrate nature and culture, was the primary purpose of the design. the project was initially initiated following the bank of england’s decision to switch from paper to polymer notes in 2016.

prior to proposing the concept, nile investigated to find out what the scottish would like to see on their banknotes. after over one thousand users contributing opinions through co-design sessions and online communities, they finally come up with the idea of presenting the “fabric of nature” theme, which is explored through various…