[zokier]

A) Front is nice, but I can't get over the shadow people in the backside

B) The most boring of the options. The tiny text with the bird facts should not be there.

C) Corporate hellscape.

D) wtf are those hands doing here

E) Again fronts look better than backs; fronts are very traditional bank-note to me.

F) Most interesting option. Certainly feels different than any other bank note I recall.

G) Ugh random vector shapes and gradients. Ugly in same ways as C)

H) Very inoffensive, very boring. Competing with B) in the most boring category.

I) Bit too much going on. The river map thing on the back side should be distinct in each note

J) The visual "sketchy" style just doesn't feel right here.

Ultimately F is visually my favourite although like many others I do dislike the "famous people" theme. Design I could be very nice with some tweaks

[ahartmetz]

I like the ones you find boring (but not the corporate Memphis ones) - money is a serious matter, so it's IMO supposed to look serious and a little boring.

[freehorse]

I feel like banknotes is one of the few common-places that EU could convey some sort of "shared vision/purpose" that is largely missing in general. From this perspective "boring" as in buildings etc are not very good options as they do not convey anything positive, and make it look further "cold and distant" from people. While options like F show a vision which europe could aim towards.

Of course then, on the other hand, the boring options are in this sense the most honest ones.

[yeahforsureman]

+1 for boring!

[mhitza]

H) is my favorite. Nicely detailed birds, less crowded designs.

Anything with a face, I'm tired of that trope of banknote design.

[simon84]

D) is notably the one mixing best vertical and horizontal view.

I guess we are used to a horizontal layout, some try to be bold with completely vertical but it won't be easy to identify in my wallet.

So I would grant D) that fine balance argument.

[mrweasel]

While I don't really particularly like any of the designs, the F option is absolutely wild and I feel it would really make the Euro notes standout in the world. I don't know that it would make for a good bank note design, but it is visibly distinct.

The birds on J is incredibly beautiful, but that's somewhat offset by the building on the reverse.