‘Handmade’ by Xavi García

‘A reaction to the soullessness of digital design’

Not many artists or designers have a business degree from Salamanca or studied management in Gothenburg. Xavi García has, though, and it’s obvious his grounding in the financial realm had an influence on his personal art project ‘Handmade’ — a banknote meticulously created by hand using drypoint, screenprinting, and stamps on newsprint. García describes the project as “a reaction to the soullessness of digital design”.

A student at Central Saint Martins, the creator says “This note pretends to remind the viewer the amount of work, hours, patience and love that artisians put into the handicrafts they produce and stress how valuable they are, replacing currency for the amount of time spent working on it.”

The banknote features security measures common in modern currency such as watermarks, tactile elements, see-through images, and invisible ultraviolet ink.