SAKARIT

Sakarit is a Graphic Designer & Visual Artist, based in Brooklyn, NYC

[email protected]

arrow_downward Underworld Currency 100 Lethe Hades Underworld Currency 100 Lethe Hades

Underworld Currency

Illustration, Imaginative & Narrative

Based on Greek mythology, the “Tartarus” currency aims to illustrate the possible banknotes that will be used in this underworld community for current residents and guests.

This Underworld comes with curated tunes!

This curated music on this hellish underworld aren’t just decoration, they’re bursts of ENERGY, heightening the nuance that threaded through these elaborate visuals and making the whole hellish underworld feel more immersive, intimidating, and alive. Nothing is random; every note is part of the curation. Music is personal, I know but here it’s essential to the narrative. (hit play button below)

Creative Brief

Inspired by Greek mythology's Underworld, the "Tartarus" currency project aims to illustrate and bring to life the fictional world of the underworld, bridging the gap between imagination and reality.

Approach

By incorporating graphic elements such as holograms, guilloché patterns, security threads, watermarks, and signatures, and blending them with well-known figures such as Hades, Persephone, and The Fate Sisters, underworld creatures, and environments, this project challenges the boundaries of design. It aims to create a realistic and convincing representation that brings the fictional world of Tartarus to life.

Results

Overall, the final results of each denomination of these underworld banknotes not only possess distinctive and unique aesthetics, but they are also highly convincing and plausible, thanks to the incorporation of security threads and patterns. This project represents a timeless achievement in my portfolio.
Tools and skills used for this project
  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Adobe Illustrator

MoreDetails:

What Place :

Underworld
For Group of Residents :

Chthonic gods (Cerberus, Charon, Chronus, Minos, Aeacus, and Rhadamanthys), goddesses (Persephone, Oneiri, Nyx, Lethe), deties (Erinyes), Newly dead, lost souls, nymphs, daemon, and gorgons.

For Visitors:

Hermes, Hera, Hercules, Aeneas, Dionysus, Heracles, Odysseus, Orpheus, Pirithous, Psyche, and Theseus.

Orpheus in the Underworld by Jan Brueghel the Elder
Orpheus in the Underworld by Jan Brueghel the Elder"

Underworld Denomination

"LETHE"

The Lethe (Greek: “Oblivion”) is one of the five rivers of the Hades’s Underworld. Lithe is also a river-goddess, a daughter of Eris (Strife) and she often represents the oblivion. The newly dead have to drink water from this river and they will love lose all memories of their past. Using this currency you will completely forget what you have bought.

Currency for the Damned &
The Only one That Survives the Afterlife
Unnderworld Currency
Bank of Tartarus - 100 Lethe of Hades
Bank of Tartarus - 100 Lethe of Hades
Details
Details of Hades 100 Lethe
Details of 2nd Iteration
100 Lethe

Hades

  • Hades in Greek

    ᾍ\δης = Hades

  • Who?

    Hades, a god of the underworld.

  • Place

    Styx River: A river of sacred oath and hatred and a boundary between Earth (Gaia) and the Underworld.

  • CREATURE

    Cerberus:A multi-headed dog that guards the gates of the Underworld to prevent the dead from leaving.

  • Plant

    Asphodel: There is a place called "Asphodel Meadows" in the underworld where these flowers thrive and many ordinary souls are sent to live after their death.

  • Hidden Message

    Τάρταρος Oἶκος: It means Property of Tartarus (underworld).

  • Code 128

    On the 2 edges of the front side is Hades's name.

Details of Hades 100 Lethe
Details of 1st Iteration

Every element, from sacred rivers to guardian creatures to coded inscriptions, functions as world‑building infrastructure. This project transforms currency into storytelling, creating an object that feels culturally rooted, historically plausible, and alive within its own mythic universe.

Craft + Process: Hades Design System

DUSTY MAUVE

HEX: #B8A19D

RGB: 184, 161, 157

CMYK: 29, 36, 33, 0

Loose Leather

HEX: #84603A

RGB: 132, 96, 58

CMYK: 39, 56, 82, 25

Tango Red

HEX: #B21028

RGB: 178, 16, 40

CMYK: 20, 100, 93, 12

Tetsu-Guro Black

HEX: #261916

RGB: 38, 25, 22

CMYK: 62, 70, 69, 78

Rough Sketch Hades
Different Iterations
Frontside of Hades 100 Lethe - 1st Design
Underworld Currency 100 Lethe Hades
50 Lethe

Persephone

  • Persephone in Greek

    Κόρη = Persephone

  • Who?

    Persephone, a queen of the Underworld, a Goddess of the dead, life, grain, spring, nature and destruction.

  • Place

    Acheron River, a river of pain and sorrow

  • CREATURE

    Harpy, a half-human and half-bird Underworld's creature, a soul snatcher, and Hades's messenger. Persephone was abducted by Harpy to the Underworld.

  • Plant

    Rose is one of the flowers among crocus, lily, violet, larkspur, and Iris when Persephone was abducted while the goddess and her companion Nymphs were gathering in a meadow.

  • Hidden Message

    Τάρταρος Oἶκος: It means Property of Tartarus (underworld).

  • Code 128

    On the 2 edges of the front side is Persephone's name (Kora)

Persephone Face Details 4
Persephone Face Details 3
Persephone Face Details 2
Persephone Face Details 1
Details
Persephone Close-up Details

The Acheron River, a passage of pain and sorrow; the Harpy, a soul‑harvesting messenger of Hades; and the rose, one of the flowers she gathered before her abduction, all serve as narrative anchors. Each element functions as world‑building infrastructure, creating a richly layered artwork that feels, emotionally charged, and alive within its mythic universe.

Craft + Process: Persephone Design System

Riverway

HEX: #DF7671

RGB: 223, 118, 113

CMYK: 9, 66, 49, 0

Arty Click Red

HEX: #E62A25

RGB: 230, 42, 37

CMYK: 3, 97, 100, 0

Jazzberry Jam

HEX: #a52065

RGB: 165, 32, 101

CMYK: 34, 100, 35, 7

Green Teal

HEX: #0c775d

RGB: 12, 119, 93

CMYK: 87, 31, 72, 16

Different Iterations
Backside of Persephone 50 Lethe - 1st Design
Backside of Persephone 50 Lethe - 1st Design
20 Lethe - Underworld Currency
20 Lethe - Underworld Currency - Back Design
Details
Closeup 20 Lethe

Inspired by the three Sisters of Fate (Atropos the Cutter, Lachesis the Allotter, and Clotho the Spinner) the design integrates their roles into an imagined economy of destiny. The River Lethe, where souls drink to forget their mortal lives, and the Lernaean Hydra, guardian of the passage between Earth and the Underworld, serve as mythic elements.

20 Lethe

Moirai

  • Sisters of Fate in Greek

    Μοῖραι = Moirai

  • Who?

    Moirai (Sisters of Fate), three goddesses of fate who personified the ineliminable destiny of man. Their names were Atropos (Cutter), Lachesis (Allotter), and Clotho (Spinner).

  • Place

    Lethe River, a river of forgetfulness. The newly dead has to drink water from this river so they could lose all memory of their past existence.

  • CREATURE

    Lernaean Hydra, a serpentine water monster who guards the entrance to the Underworld from Earth.

  • Plant

    Rose is one of the flowers among crocus, lily, violet, larkspur, and Iris when Persephone was abducted while the goddess and her companion Nymphs were gathering in a meadow.

  • Hidden Message

    Τάρταρος Oἶκος: It means Property of Tartarus (underworld).

  • Code 128

    On the 2 edges of the front side is Moirai's name

Sisters of Fate 4
Sisters of Fate 3
Sisters of Fate 2
Sisters of Fate 1

Craft + Process: Moirai Design System

Azure

HEX: #007dc5

RGB: 0, 125, 197

CMYK: 100, 40, 0, 0

AV Purple

HEX: #6f60aa

RGB: 111, 96, 170

CMYK: 65, 70, 0, 0

Strato-sphere Blue

HEX: #02205f

RGB: 2, 32, 95

CMYK: 100, 85, 0, 50

Dark Violet

HEX: #350457

RGB: 53, 4, 87

CMYK: 80, 100, 0, 50

Sketch of Moirai 20 Lethe Underworld Currency
Different Iteration
First Design of Moirai 20 Lethe Underworld Currency

MORE

Apparel / Imaginative / Type
Reimagining the Moirai—The Sisters of Fate through grotesque-like illustrations, and envisioning the possibility of applying this series to creative merchandise, I hope that one day it can be exhibited in the near future.
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