A Joyful Currency

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A Joyful Currency Infographic

symbol-infographic
symbol-infographic512×4096 99.2 KB

I should preface by stating that it doesn’t matter what I think. But…

There could be two equivalent symbols for expressing amounts of grin in written form: 60=) and (=60. These are both easy to write digitally across all modern keyboards and devices.

I can imagine a proper symbol to be added to the unicode standard in the future (like the one illustrated in the infographic above). Applications (wallets etc) expressing amounts of grin can implement the properly designed symbol using an SVG until it is adopted in the Unicode standard and included in a typeface.

Furthermore, both (= and =) makes sense semantically. If we assign a smile or grin to a symbol (one of the parentheses), then we can express amounts mathematically:

(=1000

The expression above translates semantically into: grin equals one thousand. I think that’s pretty nice.

I’m okay with people using ッ all they want, but I find it hard to express grin amounts using that character (it’s not on mine or most keyboards). Both the equal-sign and parenthesis are universally available because of their use in mathematics. They are also language neutral.

Finally, I think it’s important to present grin to the world as something joyful. The energy behind grin is important. Ask yourself if the current brand behind grin makes you feel happy or joyful. I asked myself this, and I realize the brand does feel a little scary. I believe a change in brand can greatly impact the adoption of grin. Don’t get me wrong; I love grin’s logo and how it lends itself nicely to cypherpunk culture, but I believe we need a currency-facing brand that can more naturally reach out to people on a psychological level. That brand should include archetypes behind things such as joy, happiness, and of course currency.

Thank you for attending my Ted Talk.

EDIT: I want to clarify: I’m not proposing a logo change. I’m proposing an alternative currency symbol for use in writing and applications. This doesn’t mean we discard the current logo; We can have both.

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grincoin
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Tell me that doesn’t look like a currency symbol at face value (pun not intended). If one where to look closer, they will see the grin. (=

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I love the idea and the symbol. It is clean, precise, and easy to type.

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I appreciate the admiration. I’d love to hear the rest of the community’s thoughts.

I’m also happy to share the work and design for this proposed currency symbol.

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Just to be clear: either (= or =) is acceptable in my opinion, though if one were to use =) it should follow the value:

100=)

Not

=)100

I believe it makes sense to have the eyes or equal-sign between the amount and the grin.

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It seems you are a couple of years late with the proposal of your option :slightly_smiling_face:

In my opinion, the grin logo is brilliant and doesn’t need to be changed. As is the currency symbol.

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@shush
This discussion also occured in the past, just as reference to those new to the forum:

In the end I think the logo for the currency is similar to the Grin “mission statement”, there is room for variation. A beautifull plentitude of logo’s exist and are used in the Grin ecosystem. Take for example the Grin++ logo which is also a variation of the ‘official’ logo. Also Grin++ uses your logo in showing the Grin balance in your wallet.
The curren logo can sometimes appear omnious, but at the same time it is also mysterious, a wink, intruiging and happy. Actually the Grin logo was one of the reasons I started reading about the project, since the logo is so fascinatingly different. Therefore, I do not think there is a need to change it, but there is space to enjoy a multitude of variations of logo’s, missions statements and interpretatins of what Grin is all about. In the end it differs per individual for what reason we love Grin. See the original post and all the beautifull flavors of Grin logo’s here:

The coin logo looks prity good. Maybe nice to produce some Grin coins that people can order online subsidising the Grin fund? It could be both this logo as well as the official one.

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I would rather not look this symbol as a logo for Grin. The official Grin logo is fantastic. However, the downside of the official Grin logo is not always easy to type. The symbol of OP to Grin is just like the $ sign to the USD.

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It closely resembles the Euro symbol

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That’s a feature. It matches current currency archetypes.

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I agree, there isn’t a need for a change in logo. But there is room for an alternative currency symbol.

This one that I am proposing, and have proposed in the past, is one that I believe to be more fitting as a currency symbol; both because it looks like existing currency archetypes, and because it is easier to write with (= until an official Unicode character is available.

Again, I’m okay with people using the Japanese character (can’t write it cause I’m on my phone), but I do have a slight objection to appropriating the Japanese language like that (only slightly).

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Yeah, the ship has sailed on the logo. But perhaps the currency symbol could still be what I have proposed. Regardless of whether it is official, I still believe it’s easier to use (= and =) than it is to use the Japanese character.

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Do you think that using =) exclusively would be better to avoid confusion with the euro symbol? Making the list of acceptable symbols:

ッ
=)
currency-symbol-tiny

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I think those three are fine and are best placed after the currency. I think people can quickly enough adjust to a currency symbol being placed after the amount instead of befor.
It is a bit like, hey I give you 10 grin/smiles. Kind of a happy currency to spend ッ.

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grincoin
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Still looks good. =)

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I’d like to share this as well to anyone whoever wishes to use it. I grant permission to use freely and openly.

grincoin-simple
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