Warhammer 40K Currency

Introduction

For this project, I was assigned to redesign an existing currency or design a brand new one for a location that doesn’t have one already. The location I chose to design a currency for was the universe of Warhammer 40K. Hypothetically, if this currency were used, it would be used within the Imperium of Man, which is the empire of humanity. The idea was to have this replace the current currency of this faction for Space Marines to use in-universe. Also, if this project were extended, I would include more emblems for each numeric value. For example, you could exchange 1000 credits for 1000 creeds, and so on. And what they had left could be converted back afterwards. 

I had multiple ideas for an overall theme or how to represent Warhammer 40k within my design. One of my ideas was to incorporate the Space Marine factions in my design, such as the Space Wolves, Blood Angels, the Salamanders, and so on. Eventually, I decided to represent Warhammer through the God Emperor of Mankind and different battles. The battles I chose were the Siege of Terra, the Defense of Baal, and the 13th Black Crusade. I chose these three because they are the most iconic and well-known in-universe.

To begin the project, we first had to decide what style we wanted our currency to take. After many style explorations using minimalist, retro, and post-modernism examples, I decided to move forward with a more vintage design. I felt more drawn to this direction because I had cool ideas for the graphics and the overall design of each bill. The worn style also felt more engaging and fluid rather than just images pasted together. Within the project requirements, we were not allowed to use the word “dollars” in our new currency’s name. My original idea was to call them “Imperial Credits,” but I changed that to “Creeds,” which was more fitting with the theme of the design anyway and in the lore of the Warhammer story. We also had to include the name of the location of the currency, the “bank” it comes from, a serial number, a seal, a signature, a symbol, a form of counterfeit protection, and, of course, the value of the bill. Each bill features one iconic battle as well as a different image of the God Emperor of Mankind.