June 15, 2017
The designer of the famous colourful Dutch guilders Ootje Oxenaar died today aged 87 in his hometown of Manomet, Massachusets.
It can easily be said that Oxenaar contributed to making Dutch design famous around the world, with the Dutch banknotes he designed between 1966 and 1985. In 2009 Oxenaar exhibited at the Museum for Communication, The Hague.
Here’s a video to find out more about the beautiful banknotes Oxenaar designed voiced over by him in English.
(Link: nu.nl)
Tags: currency, money, Ootje Oxenaar
December 25, 2009
The name may be unknown to foreigners, or even to the Dutch themselves, but the designs of Ootje Oxenaar are deeply familiar to any Dutch person over the age of 10. It was Oxenaar who designed the Dutch banknotes between 1966 and 1985.
Unlike the drab money used in most of the rest of the world his designs were extremely colourful. Where Oxenaar could go for aesthetics instead of respectability, it appears to have been mostly because the Dutch bank, after some initial run-ins, let him be just a designer.
In this video he talks about his relationship with the Dutch bank, rejected designs, and the many Easter eggs he put in his banknotes. The exhibition at the Museum for Communication in the Hague runs until 10 April, 2010. It focuses on both his money and stamp designs.
Oxenaar’s Euro note designs were rejected, but can still be found on the web. Oh, how I would have loved to have unicorns on our bills!
See also:
(Source video: Youtube user spykeroles. Link: Bright)
Tags: banknotes, money, Ootje Oxenaar
February 26, 2007
In 2002 the Dutch exchanged their adventurous banknote designs for drab, super-safe euro ones. For those who want to take a trip down memory lane and re-experience the Netherlands’ former “monopoly money”, CR Blog has an interview with the designer of many Dutch banknotes, “Ootje” Oxenaar who at age 76 is still teaching at the graphic design department of the Rhode Island School of Design. The interview contains several examples of his remarkable designs.
Tags: banknotes, Dutch gulder, guilders, Ootje Oxenaar, Rhode Island School of Design
