Disclaimer: I don’t owe IP rights of any design images. My taste is personal and they’re for academic purposes only.
My favourite design (though Beethoven should have been used for a 5 or 9 euro bill):
This image is part of design proposal E, created by Myrsini Vardopoulou, and has been shortlisted by the ECB as a potential design for the third euro banknote series. (European Central Bank)
How to design paper money that represents Europe
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Bravely, the ECB has asked for public feedback on ten sets of mostly well-crafted designs. On social media Europeans are taking the opportunity to provide their own images of what is truly European: disused barriers at borders; an open plastic bottle with an attached cap; two Italian DJs on a balcony, oblivious to the world’s troubles, making music while smoking and drinking Campari. Another idea is to print an out-of-office reply on notes, saying “Back in September”. The Economists’ favourite, though, is for a note bearing half a dozen famous faces: Britain’s prime ministers since Brexit.
The Economists was professional enough to not put the link to the parody designs. See Yahoo’s Europe’s central bank gets hilarious alternative designs for the euro banknote after asking for feedback (María José Gutiérrez Chávez), or, directly, ECB’s twitter comment section:
Ten selected design proposals for the next series of euro banknotes have been unveiled.
— European Central Bank (@ecb) July 23, 2026
Explore the proposals and tell us which ones you prefer.
Have your say https://t.co/VvcczFFxX3 pic.twitter.com/mZGWAdaz62