COINTABLE
Tuesday, August 7th, 2007 by Marc Nonnenmacher 
Concept
The project „Cointable“ is a new development of an optimal interface between informationdesign and input device. The interface should be exactly connected with the topic of the project. A important part of the project is also the thought that the system adjusts itself automatically to the user, and not force him to scroll through menus which are often difficult to understand.
Topic of the project are current global economic data, waiting to be discovered. The input device is not as usual keyboard and mouse, but is exactly the medium concerning the topic. A Coin is the best input medium for economical data.
Extreme poverty differences and economic bad states in the different continents and countries are long well-known. Poverty is here a term varied very far, and often also not conceivable. Every day we hear/read/see in the media of very bad economic situations in the different countries. However we have often no conception of what poverty really is until we can make comparisons with well-known measure sizes. The global unit for prosperity is the currency. In the direct comparison of monthly wages in the different continents poverty becomes very seizable and understandable. The Project takes advantage of this fact.
How it works:
The user takes a coin of his national currency and put it on a table. On the surface is a map of the world projected. If the user put the coin e.g. on „Germany“, it indicates the time interval you must work in this country to earn the value of the coin. If the coin is shifted to „Africa“, you get the time interval you have to work, to get the value of the coin. With this example economic differences become very clear. So it can inform world-wide about this circumstances. Further the User has the possibility to turn the input device like a knob. Turning the coin changes the indicated informations.
The User has the Possibility choosing out of 4 options, which will be displayed through spinning the coin.
1. How long one must work for the value of the coin placed on the map in the respective country.
2. How long one can rent a humans for the value of the coin placed on the map.
3. Percentage of a BigMac you recieve for the value of the coin. (BigMac index)
4. Percentage of the national population living every day under the value of the coin.
So every data you receive is concerned to the value of the coin.
-> 2.) How important money is, becomes very clearly with the fact that humans sell its body for money. Especially in the prostitution humans sell themselves for very little money. „The prices“ for them are out of any proportion. Compared with the „per capita income“ most countries are extremely under the normal level.
-> 3.)
To use the Big Mac as a product to compare economical situations is very good because it is an extremely standardized product sold nearly world-wide in every country. Thus the Big Mac prices of different countries can be well compared. The Big Mac is internationally not tradeable (it can`t be sold from one country into another). This prevents that its prices adapt themselves internationally. So the BigMäc represents a cross section through the domestic economy like: Agriculture, transportation economy, packaging industry, energy industry, building economy, electrical industry, advertising industry and many more. Also the salaries of the employees flows into it.
-> 4.)
Not to earn the value of the coin in an hour is for many not conceivable. However still inconceivable is the fact to have only the value of this coin every day available. Millions humans must live and survive this circumstance. Economical bad states become very clear.
An important feature of the system is also that the origin of the user is recognized by its coin and it translates all data into its national language and national currency. So the system adjusts itself completely automatically to the user and he does not have to scroll through often annoying menus. Many foreign people like germans, amerikans, afrikans, australiens, russians, spanish, even chinese people and many others will be automatically recognized by the system and every language and currency will be translated into their language and currency.
Summary:
1. The System recognizes the origin of the User automatically and translates the data in his national language and currency.
2. Information is given when the user put the coin on a country on the surface of the table. The Information is always connected to the value of the coin and the respective country. For example if “1 Euro” is put on “afrika”, then it indicates how long you must work in this country to earn the value of the coin.
3. Through turning the coin, the user can choose out of 4 options.
4. The User can put as many coins on the table as he wants, so the different countries can be optimal compared.