Award winning digital agency Cyber-Duck today announced that it has been selected by the Bank of England to design and develop the website for the new £5 polymer banknote, featuring Sir Winston Churchill, that will come into circulation in September.
The website will be the focal point for all of the bank’s marketing campaigns to educate the public and ensure that people have trust and confidence in the new banknote, prior to its release.
The £5 note featuring Sir Winston Churchill will be the first polymer banknote. The responsive website that Cyber-Duck has been commissioned to create will feature full details of the banknote’s design and security features, going into more detail on the three main benefits of polymer notes:
Cleaner - resistant to dirt and moisture so stay cleaner for longer than paper banknotes and are more easy to clean
Safer - provide enhanced counterfeit resilience
Stronger - 2.5 times more durable than paper notes
The website will be the focal point where all traffic from the Bank of England’s multi-channel education campaign, being launched in June, will be driven. Critically, the site needs to balance simplicity with excitement; being extremely user-friendly while offering novel ways to interact with, explore and share the banknote. It will be produced using Cyber-Duck’s ISO accredited User Centred Design process.
“The first time you receive a polymer £5, you want to know that it’s the real thing” said Danny Bluestone, CEO of Cyber-Duck. “The website we’re producing for the Bank of England will help to remove any doubts as consumers will be able to engage with the banknote online well before they see it in person.”
As part of the selection process, Cyber-Duck recommended a number of creative ways to make users familiar with the new note, including innovative uses of animation and video. Paolo Valenziano, Head of Digital at the Bank of England said, “We’re using digital to widen trust in a physical currency that will look and feel quite novel to the public. We selected Cyber-Duck as they were able to cross the divide between digital and physical, suggesting ideas to really bring the banknote to life online.”