We all know that the United States dollar is a living testament to bad design and terrible aesthetics. What was originally a fanciful, olde-school design in 1862 has evolved into the hideous Frankensteinian monster of a bill we have to day. (For evidence, look no further than the enormous purple Helvetica “5” that appears completely out of place on the back of the current five-dollar bill.)

But did you know that in addition to being a hideous eyesore, our unattractive currency might also be contributing to our current economic woes? Richard Smith, founder of annoyingly-spelled Dollar ReDe$ign Project, thinks that more aesthetically pleasing money might subconsciously encourage foreign investors to have greater faith in the dollar. He’s commissioned an online petition and a Flickr group to solicit new design ideas for our money.

Here are a few of my favorites:

In Rock We Trust, by Thomas Garcia Moreno:

The Sky’s the (Federal) Limit, by Isaac Gertman:

The Color of Money, by Elias Stern:

Smith says that the U. S. is basically a troubled corporation, and that we need to “re-brand” ourselves (although I thought that’s what this whole “Barack Obama” thing was?) I’m not sure if there’s any truth behind the psychology of this idea, but I’m definitely in favor of a dollar re-design. Maybe it’s time to give J. S. G. Boggs a call…