Design in Tension: The hidden complexity of bank note design

Bank notes are small, self-contained works of art where beauty must coexist with durability, accessibility and resistance to counterfeiting.

This talk explores the hidden tension between visual storytelling and technical performance. Martine and Boyd share how this pressure shapes the bank note design process, requiring close collaboration across disciplines, rigorous testing and constant negotiation with stakeholders.

With behind-the-scenes insights, this session unveils the multiple layers of bank note design and how constraints can become drivers of better design.

About Martine Warren & Boyd Laanstra

Martine has spent over 20 years shaping the money in your pocket—from the introduction of Canada’s first note with a holographic stripe to the transition from paper to polymer. Today, she works at the intersection of design and research, focusing on the design and security feature development for Canada’s first vertical bank note series. Her work involves stress-testing notes for resilience against known counterfeiting methods—an effort that occasionally calls for white hat counterfeiting. Long dedicated to supporting the accessibility suite on Canada’s currency, she recently led a human-centered design initiative exploring a hypothetical digital Canadian dollar, developing a suite of fully functional prototypes with a strong focus on accessibility and user experience. Outside the lab, Martine is a multi-disciplinary creator who can be found working on landscaping projects or in her studio creating her latest fused glass artwork.

Boyd joined the Bank of Canada in 2014 to research and guide the visual content represented on the commemorative banknote issued to celebrate the country’s sesquicentennial (150th anniversary of Confederation). Since then, he has helped create the $10 banknote featuring Viola Desmond and is currently working on two new notes—a $20 featuring King Charles III and a $5 featuring Terry Fox. Before joining the Bank, Boyd developed and presented Mosaika, the Parliament Hill sound and light show, and has helped create exhibitions and programs in museums and galleries around the world. He holds a BA in History from McGill University and a Master of Museum Studies from the University of Toronto. When not thinking about banknote design, Boyd loves exploring the outdoors, cheering for the Blue Jays, and failing at disc golf for the past 25 years.