With e-money, money becomes intangible. The »spectacle of paying« illustrates the idea of visible gestures as a means of transferring and exchanging money face to face. The initial idea was to create a stringent system of specific gestures — each gesture equals a certain amount of money such as notes and coins.
The system of conducting in music has no absolute rules on how to conduct correctly, therefore a wide variety of different conducting styles exist. This inspired to think of a more flexible application where there are no set rules. Customizing an act of paying by translating an mount of money into its very own gesture. This allows people not only to adjust their transfer of money to specific situations, but also to communicate nuances of phrasing and expression through gesture. These paying gestures have to be choreographed beforehand, but a result the way of spending becomes more attractive than the holding of actual money.

The Future of Money: New Rituals, New Pleasures. The project was sponsored by Intel’s People and Practices Research Group and was carried out during November and December 2007 in Design Interactions at the Royal College of Art.

Appearances:
Article in Icon Magazine

Conferences:
Digital Money Forum 2009
Everyday Digital Money, University of California (Irvine, CA)