Antoine Martin: Emphase Ltd to design new banknote series - the Swiss National Bank exhibits all 12 concepts from the design competition
Remarks by Mr Antoine Martin, Vice Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank, and Mr Sébastien Kraenzlin, Alternate Member of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank, at the Swiss National Bank's news conference, Zurich, 4 March 2026.
The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.
Presentation accompanying the speech
Ladies and gentlemen
Sébastien Kraenzlin and I welcome you to the Swiss National Bank's news conference today.
A year and a half ago, the SNB announced that it was developing a new banknote series - its tenth. The SNB then held a competition to identify the most suitable candidates to carry out the design.
Winner of design competition
It is a great pleasure for us to present the winner of the competition to you today. It is Emphase Ltd. Their submission, Concept J, was created under the direction of Fabienne Kilchör and Sébastien Fasel. The concept prevailed over high-quality designs presented by other competitors. Concept J by Emphase Ltd was the only submission to be placed in the top three designs in both the public survey and the evaluation by an external advisory board.
Fabienne Kilchör and Sébastien Fasel have convincingly conveyed the theme of the new banknote series, 'Switzerland and its altitudes', set by the SNB. Their concept depicts the six altitudes - the lowlands, the Central Plateau, the Jura, the alpine foothills, the Alps and the High Alps - according to the specifications, and shows how people live together with nature in the different altitudinal zones: On the front of the different denominations, plants native to the relevant altitude are shown to scale. On the back, typical landscapes and buildings form habitats for humans and animals. Modes of transport connect Switzerland's diverse regions and ensure symbolic continuity across the denominations. Additional elements invite exploration of our country. Graphically, Concept J impresses with its distinctive imagery, the balanced interplay of its components, and its high design density. Technically, the concept is particularly well suited to the banknote development process.