[morjom]

For me, across all of them only two felt actually decent for a bank note (B & E, I is okay, just not used to bank notes in that orientation, same for J, but that one should be more monochrome). Either they were too vibrant or the design was too busy/had unnecesary elements.

I also feel like the notes that had buildings (like we have now) are just.. better. The initial run of 2002-2013 remains the best aesthetically, imo.

[tialaramex]

I prefer the Birds & Rivers theme because nobody is expecting a specific bird to meet some arbitrary ideal whereas if you put identifiable humans on a banknote people start to mistake their inevitable flaws for a desirable property. I feel this more strongly for statues, but it seems desirable for the Euro or any potential international currency too.

[tgv]

I don't think anyone will want to become cranky and deaf because Beethoven is on a bank note, but putting people on them is rather arbitrary. The set looks too much like a compromise for political safety.

[morjom]

I'm partial for statues, and birds and rivers is a good theme. I feel like if they sticked to the semi-monochrome of the previous notes I'd be more favorable to them aswell. Monochrome might be the wrong word, ESL.

For reference, the two previous runs at the top of the page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro_banknotes

[tialaramex]

Monochrome means "single colour". Typically shades of that colour are included, so if something was dark purple lines on a light purple background we might say that's monochrome. In some cases it's taken to mean that there's just black/ grey/ white, but here it makes sense to say that e.g. one note is green, another blue, but no individuals notes are a mix of green and blue, they're monochrome.

Since you mentioned English isn't your first language, this use of the "to stick" verb where it's about adhering to something (metaphorically in your case) has a different past participle, "stuck". You wrote "sticked" which makes sense but isn't used for this meaning today. Nobody will misunderstand but it will sound wrong to them, we'd say e.g. "Perhaps if we'd stuck with Zig the game would be finished by now" or "Somebody stuck their chewing gum to the table".

Most of these new designs are monochrome excepting that the European flag is itself blue because that's what colour the flag is. A few of them are more colourful, and I see what you mean about that adding to clutter. For their purpose they're successful because the big reason to use colour is that people with very poor sight (some of whom are legally blind but do retain some ability to determine colour) can tell a red note from a blue one, the small accents in a different colour won't affect that. If your sight is good enough to figure out it's a European flag, you don't need this cue, you can read the large numerals saying "100" nearby to determine it's a €100 note.

[Reason077]

My favourite by far is Proposal F - Jan Robert Dünnweller. A sort of retro-modern design with a more restricted use of colour, like you suggest. This one really pops and is quite unique.

The others, for the most part, aren't necessarily bad, but they are a bit boring and derivative.

[crote]

> nobody is expecting a specific bird to meet some arbitrary ideal

People will still find ways to get upset about none or too few of the birds being present in their country, or "their bird" being depicted on the "cheap" notes.

There are very few birds which are commonly seen throughout all of the EU, from cold and wet Finland to hot and dry Spain. Virtually all birds have a limited geographical living area, which means you are automatically unintentionally playing favorites with countries.

[sznio]

Let's just settle it with pigeons, chickens and turkeys.

Maybe too early for the turkeys right now...

[naishoya]

Pan-European Migratory Species:

Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica): Migrates and breeds across all EU territories from Southern to Northern Europe.

White Stork (Ciconia ciconia): Uses major European flyways crossing through virtually all EU nations during spring and autumn migration.

European Robin (Erithacus rubecula): Widespread resident and migrant present in every EU country.

Common Quail (Coturnix coturnix): A highly migratory ground bird breeding regularly in all EU member states.

Eurasian Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla): A remarkably adaptable migratory songbird found traversing or breeding in every EU country.

Additional Widespread European Migrants:

Common Swift (Apus apus): Spends summers breeding in all EU nations before migrating to Sub-Saharan Africa.

Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus): A widespread brood parasite present across every EU country during the spring breeding season. <~ probably not the image one would want on a 5 Euro note.

Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis): Moves dynamically across all EU borders, adapting via partial migration.

Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos): A migratory and resident songbird found throughout the entire European Union. <~ due to homonym in English for a medical condition. probably not the right image either.

Common Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita): A highly migratory leaf warbler that breeds or passes through every EU state.

Many species of birds are HIGHLY migratory, spend some part of every year chasing weather that supports and provides food for them.

Some of these make round trips from the sub-Arctic to sub-Saharan climates every year. So a list of birds that is acceptable and not 'favoring' any one nation is an easy move. Choosing birds that actually are found in all 27 member nations is a great idea.

Even Malta and Cyprus see all ten of these species as they provide important migration stopovers in the Mediterranean during migration and a few of these species, the Quail even manages to have historically had breeding populations in both, as well as using the islands as key migratory stopovers.

Using birds on an Euro note can help draw public awareness to the ongoing need for cooperation among nations in the protections of a shared symbol of natural freedom, which migratory birds embody.

[doublerabbit]

You've never had to bartend with a seagull.

Next crows will be holding you at gun point for the crow looking notes.

[michaelt]

> if you put identifiable humans on a banknote people start to mistake their inevitable flaws for a desirable property

Does the same logic extend all elevated positions? A person in a national portrait gallery, a person with a statue, a person with an olympic medal or a nobel prize, a person with a fancy title like president or queen?

Or is there something specific about bank notes that makes them more problematic?

[crote]

They are Euro bank notes. They are supposed to represent all of the EU. If there's even the possibility of someone getting upset over a specific portrayal you have failed at your one task.

I can't exactly get upset over "the concept of Renaissance architecture". I can get upset over, say, Beethoven fighting his sister-in-law to get the custody of her son.

[tialaramex]

You may have noticed that all the people on these banknotes are, much like on US banknotes, dead. So that insulates them from a lot of things which happen to living people if we reconsider them.

We can and do take away honours from living people, you might remember that Paula Vennells had an OBE, but that was removed because while she hasn't and likely won't ever be actually prosecuted for it, it's obviously her fault that so many UK subpostmasters were convicted of crimes they didn't commit and in some cases even committed suicide.

Likewise the present King of England's brother would in the ordinary course of things be a pretty important guy with the title Prince and so on. But he's not, he's just Andrew because even though again he's unlikely to face prosecution it does seem like he fucked an underage girl trafficked by Epstein so the King took away his titles.

But for example Oscar Pistorius has several medals for running - not just in paralympic events but straight up against people with both legs and no running blades. The medals weren't retracted when he murdered somebody or even when he was sent to prison for the murders. Oscar still ran really fast and the medals stand. But hopefully we are clear that "Was very fast" and "Is a terrible person" are compatible ideas.

[suddenlybananas]

Everyone on these banknotes are dead too?

[applfanboysbgon]

They literally said they consider statues more problematic.

> a person with a fancy title like president

"President" is not a fancy title. It is, in fact, a title specifically chosen to be boring and unglamorous.

[BadBadJellyBean]

I think H works too. It's a good compromise between fresh colors and familiar design.

[crote]

> same for J, but that one should be more monochrome

The color is actually the main reason I dislike that design the least!

All the monochrome blobs do have a more traditional bank note feeling, but the complete lack of contrast makes them unmemorable and hard to identify. You can't trivially tell them apart at a quick glance, you have to either actively read the number or identify it by color. But the numbers aren't big enough for reading, and there are a lot of colorblind people.

Try opening them up in a photo editing tool. Blur them and desaturate them a bunch. Can you still tell them apart?