Freelance graphic designer Henry Gray on creating licensed coins for The Royal Mint

Henry, here are three words I never thought I’d say… You’ve designed coins for The Royal Mint! What kind of coins?
Yes! I’ve always been very enthusiastic about designing for coins, so any project The Royal Mint would like me to have a crack at really is an honour. I’ve worked on numerous coin designs… The first was the 2017 First World War Aviation £2 coin, and the most recent was the 2024 Buckingham Palace £5. That got an individual release on March 11th after being included in this year’s annual set. I’ve been lucky enough to have had ten coin designs selected for release by The Royal Mint so far.

In terms of those ten designs, two or three are clearly licensed IP… And here I’m going to zero in on the design you did for The Who coin! Tell me about it! What was the process?
The Who commemorative coin launched in 2021 as part of The Royal Mint’s popular Music Legends series. Initially, I was invited to submit a response to a brief… I sometimes won’t know what the specific subject of the coin is until I agree to respond. Which makes it all the more exciting!

Oh, wow!
With every brief from The Royal Mint, the subject matter is as diverse as it is interesting. The challenge with all of them is how to distill and communicate a unique narrative that makes the subject easily identifiable but prompts the viewer to look a little closer and discover more. The design had to capture the band’s musical flair and reflect the band’s image. The subject had to be instantly recognisable as The Who, without showing the band.

Yes, that would be a very interesting brief. So what happened? You submitted one design idea? Or a handful?
I ended up submitting numerous different narrative routes, each with multiple design iterations. I always spend too long immersing myself in the subject in order to generate loads of ideas, which in turn generate lots of design options.

There were brand guidelines that needed to be followed which stipulated logo usage, colour, style and so on. Once submitted, the shortlisted designs are put in front of the Royal Mint Advisory Committee.

Fantastic! And we’ve interviewed the remarkable Philippa Green about that side of the process. People can read that here… I’m curious, though, is your process different when you design a non-licensed coin?
This is my day-to-day, my bread and butter – working across multiple client brand guidelines to create something new with a set of established assets. For coin, the process is always the same; research, concepting, design. The only difference is how restrictive the brand guidelines are in the freedom they give to select imagery, illustration, graphic elements, font, colours, layout and style when designing.

Often, working within guidelines makes things a lot easier as there are far fewer design decisions that I have to make. However, the guidelines will never be conceived with not only such a tiny application in mind but also a round canvas! So the rules might have to be challenged or expanded in order to make the best design sing.

Great! I would never have thought of that, but of course, that’s true. So! You mentioned your bread-and-butter work because, more generally, you’re a graphic designer… What kind of thing do you do when you’re not working on coins of the realm?
I’m a freelance designer working in graphic, digital and 3D – and I work as a creative for experiential and events. I earn my crust working for a variety of agencies: experiential, digital, events, PR, and advertising… So I’m not easily pigeon-holed – and, it turns out, a recruitment consultants’ nightmare!

Ha! Well, let’s be shameless about this; let’s give you a bloody good plug. Where do people find out more about you?
Oh! Well, some of the good stuff is at www.cargocollective.com/henrygray

Perfect. How do you stay creative, Henry?
I couldn’t stop if I tried, it’s just who I am. But the more diverse I can be in the range of work I do, the more satisfied I seem to be. I specifically enjoy the contrast between, for example, designing an experiential environment like a festival pop-up or an exhibition stand that may exist for a few days, then switching to designing for a canvas that goes in your pocket and might still be collectable in 1,000 years…

A canvas that goes in your pocket! I love that!
Both demand the same rigorous levels of thinking to generate an effective narrative… But coin demands that everything – every element, texture and detail – has meaning. That means it must be extraordinarily distilled. It will never stop being a fascinating challenge.

And how did you come to be doing what you do? What’s your background?
I grew up in a creative household; my dad was an artist and lecturer, my mum a teacher and textile designer. I completed a degree in sculpture – but realised very quickly that a life as a ‘hard-up’ artist wasn’t for me. I was much more excited by the range of challenges that the odd passing client brief was posing rather than my own practice.

So did you naturally pivot? Or did you retrain?
I retrained! An MA in industrial design at St. Martins laid the foundations for a new direction… I set up a company that existed in a niche between design and art – making complicated commercial objects, often at a large scale, for advertising and experiential campaigns.

This led to a job offer from a client at an experiential agency. That gave me free reign to work as a designer and creative. It was during this time that I became interested by how powerfully stories could be told using images, objects and environments and, ultimately, that’s what I do designing for The Royal Mint.

Fantastic! Into the home strait now, Henry: what’s the one question I could’ve asked you today but didn’t?
Blimey, Deej!

Ha! I know! It’s an awful thing to ask!
Ha! Maybe… Why do I design coins in the first place?

And why DO you design coins in the first place?
I get a lot of joy from the fact that other people get excited about these designs. As a graphic designer, it often feels that your work is just adding to the noise of life rather than being looked at and appreciated. Coins are the most internationally ubiquitous product that I can think of… Everyone has some. The thought that a design of mine can give someone just a moment’s pause for thought makes me happy.

It’s collectable, and as a collectible it brings joy, fascination and a bit of education. In turn, that could spark something new for someone. And finally, the legacy of the product… Its desirability will endure as long as the coin exists – potentially even longer than the subject of the coin, which is mind blowing. What else could a designer want from their work?

Well, that’s a hugely charming answer! Thank you so much, Henry; what a wonderful insight.