Find the meaning.
Choose an ordinary object worth keeping. Compare reasons without ranking whose memory is more valuable.
Ask: “Valuable to whom?”
Skip to the learning lab
UNIVERSITY OF
EL SEGUNDO
Small paper.
Give it a reason
Give the eye
A number is
Make a small
A studio in
01 / 4 MIN 02 / 5 MIN 03 / 4 MIN 04 / 7 MIN
More learning by making
EL SEGUNDO
NOUNS MONEY WORKSHOP / THE LEARNING LAB
Small paper.
Big ideas.
What makes something worth keeping?
Make a collectible art note.
Find out by making four small decisions.
Already made a Workshop design?
Optional. Imports a checked design file on this device; nothing is uploaded.
Portrait: exact original Nouns pixel art, selected from five recorded traits.
Border: decorative linework. It is not an authentication system.
Identifier: . A repeatable local design label; anyone can copy it, and different designs can share a label.
Purpose: a collectible art study. It conveys no payment or ownership rights.
FIG. 01
A place, a memory, a bit of care.
Start with what the object means to you.
PAPER COPY A
PAPER COPY B
ORIGINAL NOUNS ART / CC0Source notes ↓
EXPERIMENT 01 / MEANING
Give it a reason
to be kept.
The paper stays the same. Change the story.
Three different ideas
- Collectible
- An object kept for its art, story, or interest. This lab creates only an art specimen.
- Voucher
- A real redemption promise needs an issuer and terms. Gift certificates can fall under consumer rules. Our sample makes no such promise.
- Money & financial rights
- Money serves exchange, pricing, and saving. Financial rights depend on actual arrangements and applicable law; drawing a note creates none.
Bank of England: money’s functions · CFPB: gift certificates
EXPERIMENT 02 / DESIGN
Give the eye
a place to land.
Same story. Three compositions. Which one makes the purpose easiest to read?
THE FIVE-SECOND LOOK
Look away, look back. What did you see first? Now find “Art specimen.” Try the reverse side too.
EXPERIMENT 03 / IDENTIFIERS
A number is
not a lock.
A label can help you name a design. Watch what happens when you make a second copy.
YOUR LOCAL DESIGN LABELSame choices → same label. No registry.
A plan for your table, not an enforced supply limit. Another print or screenshot can carry the same label.
What about serials and QR codes?
On U.S. banknotes, serials and plate numbers identify different things. Our label only names a local design. A QR can point to information; its presence alone does not prove ownership or authenticity. Decorative borders can be copied too.
U.S. Currency Education Program: identifiersEXPERIMENT 04 / MAKE & TEST
Make a small
thing, well.
Name it. Write its story. Make one proof before a tableful.
Take your Noun, ink colors, and shortened uppercase title into the Workshop. Your composition, copy plan, and story stay in this brief. The Workshop creates its own design fingerprint.
You can print a draft before testing. A self-check records your observations; it is not a credential.
0 of 4 experiments visited
Your work stays in this tab. Choose “Save on this device” to keep it after closing.
FACILITATOR’S NOTES
A studio in
one sitting.
One screen or one sheet of paper. Pair discussion is optional. Everyone can leave with a private project brief.
See the hierarchy.
Show two compositions for five seconds each. Have learners name the first thing they saw, then locate the art label.
Ask: “What should lead?”Copy the identifier.
Duplicate the note. Compare both labels. Separate a promise to print six from a technical restriction on copying.
Ask: “What did the label prove?”Make one proof.
Write the brief, print or draw one note, and test it. Give feedback about what was understood, not whether it looks expensive.
Ask: “What will you revise?”Bring
Paper, a pencil, and this page. A printer is optional. A plain rectangle with a text description works equally well.
Look for
A clear art label; a reason for the composition; an honest explanation of copying; one observation from testing.
Keep it open
No account, money, wallet, public name, or shared artifact is needed. Read all prompts aloud or use the text path.
AN EL SEGUNDO EXHIBITION IDEA / PROPOSED
The smallest paper museum.
Six art notes. Six stories about a local place. Arrange them on a table with their briefs and ask visitors what they noticed first. Invite a willing host; there is no scheduled event. Keeping your work private counts equally.
Sources, art & a little context
Objects and meaning
Money has taken many forms, including cowrie shells. A familiar look is different from the functions of money: exchange, pricing, and saving.
Bank of England · What is money?Promises and identifiers
Gift certificates can be subject to consumer rules. U.S. banknotes distinguish serial, series, and printing-plate information. These are context, not systems implemented by this lab.
CFPB · Gift certificatesU.S. Currency Education Program · IdentifiersOriginal Nouns artwork
Exact pixel layers from nounsDAO/nouns-monorepo, pinned to commit 2213eea1c15f331f786784c2621d53bdecf907e2. Artwork: CC0. Trait combinations here do not identify minted tokens. An independent project, with no official Nouns affiliation.
Asset provenance & checksumsOfficial public-domain statementUpstream source-code license (GPL-3.0)