Keywords
identificación
desmaterialización
simbolismo
características culturales monetary unit
identification
dematerialisation
symbolism
cultural characteristics
How to Cite
Abstract
This article analyses the evolution of currency design as a means of communication through semiotic, cultural, and historical approaches. Case studies from China, the US, Japan, and Singapore reveal how design reflects national identity, historical memory, and cultural values. In antiquity, coins legitimised rulers; in the Middle Ages, they conveyed state and religious symbols. Since the eighteenth century, paper money incorporated economic and ideological messages. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, design grew more intellectualised, reflecting historical and cultural shifts. The study highlights modern trends, especially digitalisation, and shows how portraits, text, symbols, and colours convey stability, development, and power. China’s banknotes, for example, feature historical figures, landscapes, and technology as markers of national identity. The semiotic approach proves vital in understanding how currency communicates societal values. The findings are relevant for historians, cultural scholars, and economists, and offer insights for preserving symbolic meaning in digital currency formats.
References
Afisi, O. (2020). The concept of semiotics in Charles Sanders Peirce’s pragmatism. Trends in Semantics and Pragmatics. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343167191_THE_CONCEPT_OF_SEMIOTICS_IN_CHARLES_SANDERS_PEIRCE'S_PRAGMATISM
Althusser, L. (2014). On the reproduction of capitalism: Ideology and ideological state apparatuses. NY: Verso.
Amirza, M. & Abdul Razak, M. (2022). Rethinking a national monetary identity: Does Malaysia need a fitter ringgit symbol? In: Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Design Industry and Creative Culture. Gent: EAI. http://dx.doi.org/10.4108/eai.24-8-2021.2315048
Balvers, R. & McDonald, B. (2021). Designing a global digital currency. Journal of International Money and Finance, 111, 102317. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jimonfin.2020.102317
Bekmuratov, A., Myrzaibraimova, I., Mamashov, K., Raimberdiev, B. & Tookeeva, D. (2024). Impact of leasing transactions on business development in Kyrgyzstan. Scientific Bulletin of Mukachevo State University. Series Economics, 11(3), 21-33. https://doi.org/10.52566/msu-econ3.2024.21
Brunnermeier, M., James, H. & Landau, J. (2021). The digitalization of money. BIS Working Papers. https://www.bis.org/publ/work941.pdf
Butenko, N., Mykhaylovych, O., Bincheva, P., Lyndyuk, A. & Luchnikova, T. (2023). The Role of Internet Marketing in the Strategy of Forming Entrepreneurial Activity. Economic Affairs (New Delhi), 68(1), 73-82. https://doi.org/10.46852/0424-2513.1s.2023.9
Chao, J. (2023). The visual politics of Brand China: Exceptional history and speculative future. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, 19(3), 305-316. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41254-022-00270-6
Chen, Y. & Adams, M. (2023). The regulation of digital currency in China. European Journal of Law Reform, 25(1-2), 143-160. https://doi.org/10.5553/ejlr/138723702023025001004
Curtin, B. (2019). Semiotics and Visual Representation. International Program in Design and Architecture. https://www.arch.chula.ac.th/journal/files/article/lJjpgMx2iiSun103202.pdf
Ding, L., He, X. & Tang, Y. (2020). Integration of Chinese traditional cultural elements in modern graphic design teaching based on big data analysis. Journal of Physics Conference Series, 1533, 042095. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1533/4/042095
Diniz, E., De Araujo, M., Alves, M. & Gonzalez, L. (2024). Design principles for sustainable community currency projects. Sustainability Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-023-01456-4
Du, Y. & Xu, D. (2022). Analysis of graphic design based on AI interaction technology. Journal of Environmental and Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/8493528
Eilouti, B. (2019). Shape grammars as a reverse engineering method for the morphogenesis of architectural façade design. Frontiers of Architectural Research, 8(2), 191-200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2019.03.006
European Central Bank. Statistic. (2025). https://www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/all-key-statistics/html/index.en.html
First, A. & Sheffi, N. (2015). Borders and banknotes: The national perspective. Nations and Nationalism, 21(2), 330-347. https://doi.org/10.1111/nana.12097
Fisher-Høyrem, S. (2022). Banknotes: The money of civilization. In: Rethinking Secular Time in Victorian England. Histories of the Sacred and Secular, 1700-2000 (pp. 165-218). Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-09285-5_5
Guan, H., Palma, N. & Wu, M. (2022). The rise and fall of paper money in yuan China, 1260-1368. https://hummedia.manchester.ac.uk/schools/soss/economics/discussionpapers/EDP-2207.pdf
Hilpert, H. (2024). China’s currency campaign. The challenge of internationalisation and digitalisation of the Renminbi. SWP Research Paper. https://doi.org/10.18449/2024RP07
Hongqing, G. & Fang, X. (2024). The application and trends of semiotics in design. AHFE International. https://doi.org/10.54941/ahfe1005433
Hu, B., Zelenko, O., Pinxit, V. & Buys, L. (2019). A social semiotic approach and a visual analysis approach for Chinese traditional visual language: A case of tea packaging design. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 9(2), 168. https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.0902.06
Khamzaeva, A., Myrzaibraimova, I. & Mamashov, K. (2020). Problems and Prospects of Economic Digitalization in Kyrgyzstan. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, 87, 876-881. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29586-8_99
Krasivskyy, O. (2024). Development and evolution of European Union policy. Democratic Governance, 17(2), 46-57. https://doi.org/10.56318/dg/2.2024.46
Krasnobayev, V., Koshman, S. & Mavrina, M. (2014). A Method for Increasing the Reliability of Verification of Data Represented in a Residue Number System. Cybernetics and Systems Analysis, 50(6), 969-976. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10559-014-9688-3
Kyrychok, T., Baglai, V. & Kyrychok, A. (2020). Optical methods of banknotes sorting for Ukrainian Hryvnia: Results and problems. Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering, 11369, 1136918. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2553936
Kyrychok, T., Korotenko, O., Baglai, V. & Kyrychok, A. (2024). Investigation of quality recognition of banknotes marks for visually impaired people. Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering, 12938, 1293817. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3012707
Kyrychok, T., Korotenko, O., Talimonov, Y. & Kyrychok, A. (2023). Improving a method for determining the level of wear of the mark for people with visual impairments on ukrainian hryvnia banknotes. Eastern-European Journal of Enterprise Technologies, 5(1(125)), 92-103. https://doi.org/10.15587/1729-4061.2023.287746
Lawson, K. (2019). Using currency iconography to measure institutional quality. The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, 72, 73-79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.qref.2018.10.006
Ledin, P. & Machin, D. (2018). Doing visual analysis: From theory to practice. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781529793529
Leidholm, N. (2024). Transforming the religious landscape: Emperor Leo VI and his struggle for supremacy over the church. Turkish Journal of History, 82, 1-26. https://doi.org/10.26650/iutd.1384759
Liao, T. & Wang, C. (2018). The changing face of money. The China Review, 18(2), 87-120. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26435649
Lyndyuk, A., Havrylyuk, I., Tomashevskii, Y., Khirivskyi, R. & Kohut, M. (2024). The impact of artificial intelligence on marketing communications: New business opportunities and challenges. Economics of Development, 23(4), 60-71. https://doi.org/10.57111/econ/4.2024.60
Lyu, W., Liu, Y., Jiang, Y., Su, H. & Zhang, K. (2023). E-CNY and digital economy in China. Journal of Advance Research in Social Science and Humanities, 9(11). https://doi.org/10.61841/g15vgt84
Maripov, A. (1994). Slitless and lensless rainbow holography. Journal of Optics, 25(4), 131-134. https://doi.org/10.1088/0150-536X/25/4/001
Maripov, A. & Ismanov, Y. (1994). The Talbot effect (a self-imaging phenomenon) in holography. Journal of Optics, 25(1), 3-8. https://doi.org/10.1088/0150-536X/25/1/001
Maurer, B., Musaraj, S. & Small, I. (2019). Money at the Margins: Global Perspectives on Technology, Financial Inclusion, and Design. Oxford: Berghahn Books. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvw04bp0
Meyer, C. & Hudon, M. (2019). Money and the commons: An investigation of complementary currencies and their ethical implications. Journal of Business Ethics, 160, 277-292. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-018-3923-1
Mishchenko, S. (2009). Financial crisis influence upon realization of monetary policy by central banks. Actual Problems of Economics, 9, 209-218.
Mishchenko, V., Naumenkova, S., Mishchenko, S. & Tishchenko, I. (2025). Formation and functioning of financial metaverse platforms. Financial and Credit Activity: Problems of Theory and Practice, 1(60), 111-122. https://doi.org/10.55643/fcaptp.1.60.2025.4689
Mishchenko, V. & Mishchenko, S. (2015). Enhancing the effect of transmission channels in monetary policy of Ukraine under the transition to inflation targeting. Actual Problems of Economics, 163(1), 421-428.
Ojedo, F. & Macizo, P. (2023). The value of banknotes: Relevance of size, colour and design. Psychological Research, 87(6), 1944-1952. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-022-01764-x
Pohranychna, I. (2023). Renovation of residences from previous historical eras and styles. Architectural Studies, 9(1), 65-73. https://doi.org/10.56318/as/1.2023.65
Schaps, D. (2023). The first coins in Ancient Greece. https://rethinkq.adp.com/artifact-first-coins-ancient-greece/
Shen, W. & Hou, L. (2021). China’s central bank digital currency and its impacts on monetary policy and payment competition: Game changer or regulatory toolkit? Computer Law & Security Review, 41, 105577. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clsr.2021.105577
Siqueira, A., Honig, B., Mariano, S. & Moraes, J. (2020). A commons strategy for promoting entrepreneurship and social capital: Implications for community currencies, cryptocurrencies, and value exchange. Journal of Business Ethics, 166(4), 711-726. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-020-04578-2
Spytska, L. (2023). Inheritance of power in the XXI century: legal mechanisms for the transfer of presidential powers to controlled viceroys and family members in authoritarian regimes. Law of Justice Journal, 37(2), 178-206. https://doi.org/10.5335/rjd.v37i2.14929
Spytska, L. (2024). Practice-based methods of bringing to legal liability for anonymous defamation on the Internet and in the media. Social and Legal Studios, 7(1), 202-209. https://doi.org/10.32518/sals1.2024.202
Taheri, S. & Yaqouti, N. (2021). Social semiotics analysis of the dollar’s visual structure. Occidental Studies, 11(2), 95-117. https://doi.org/10.30465/os.2021.35113.1693
Tryhuba, A., Hutsol, T., Kubo?, M., Tryhuba, I., Komarnitskyi, S., Tabor, S., Kwa?niewski, D., Mudryk, K., Faichuk, O., Hohol, T. & Tomaszewska-Górecka, W. (2022). Taxonomy and Stakeholder Risk Management in Integrated Projects of the European Green Deal. Energies, 15(6), 2015. https://doi.org/10.3390/en15062015
Varela, M., Mishchenko, V. & Cherkashyna, K. (2023). Sufficiency of banking capital: the experience of Portugal. Financial and Credit Activity: Problems of Theory and Practice, 6(53), 9-20. https://doi.org/10.55643/fcaptp.6.53.2023.4235
Varnaliy, Z., Onishchenko, S. & Masliy, A. (2016). Threat prevention mechanisms of Ukraine's economic security. Economic Annals-XXI, 159(5-6), 20-24. https://doi.org/10.21003/ea.V159-04
Volichenko, O., Xiong, W., Huang, X. & Orozonova, ?. (2024). The genesis and fortification of the castle architecture of the early Middle Ages. Architectural Studies, 10(2), 111-123. https://doi.org/10.56318/as/2.2024.111
Wang, X., Liu, D. & Zhang, P. (2024). Financial development, money demand, and currency internationalization: Based on a multidimensional globalization perspective. Finance Research Letters, 67, Part A, 105830. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2024.105830
Wennerlind, C. (2019). Money and its ideas: Enlightenment debates about the morality of money. In: A Cultural History of Money in the Age of Enlightenment (pp. 53-74). London: Bloomsbury Academic. http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781474206822.ch-002
Xie, H. (2023). Analysis of interaction function of modern graphic design based on technical-aided design. Journal of King Saud University – Science, 35(8), 102828. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jksus.2023.102828
Yesimov, S. & Borovikova, V. (2022). Administrative and Legal Implementation of the Rights of Business Entities. Social and Legal Studios, 5(3), 16-22. https://doi.org/10.32518/2617-4162-2022-5-3-16-22
Zhang, N. (2020). Application of computer graphics and image software in marine graphic design. Journal of Coastal Research, 106(sp1), 600. https://doi.org/10.2112/si106-136.1
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2025 Array