The IDEO identity card project.

January 13, 2001 9:36 AM

The IDEO identity card project. I'm fascinated by the micro-genre of busness cards. There's something about that tiny space that seems to get people's creative energy going in ways that even the big wide-open spaces of the web don't (not always in good ways). These designers are pushing the envelope in every direction: DNA, Bluetooth, plastic bags, incinerators, cameras, anonymity, you name it.
posted by rodii (11 comments total)

"Bateman gets so flustered over the card's elegant and tasteful design that he starts sweating and loses his breath."
posted by tiaka at 10:24 AM on January 13, 2001

Anonymity? What's the point of having an anonymous business card?
posted by kindall at 10:48 AM on January 13, 2001

It's a weird idea but it makes sense in a Neal Stephenson type way. If you want to exchange info with someone without revealing your identity--like, say you're a drug courier or a leaker--your card will allow people to locate the stuff, or get stuff to you, without giving away your identity. Think Deep Throat. It's hard to imagine needing this as a normal matter of course, but some people have much more uh, glamorous jobs than me.

BTW, thanks to xblog for the link.
posted by rodii at 12:26 PM on January 13, 2001

Anyone know of a gallery of cutting edge designs of normal business cards online? Is there anywhere that has scans of hi-tech companies' business cards. I'm fascinated by their design
posted by williamtry at 1:31 PM on January 13, 2001

This was interesting. Wonder if the pyra people know there's a device specifically for burning their business cards.
posted by Neale at 4:25 PM on January 13, 2001

I especially enjoyed the fortune cookie one... particularly since it's implementable. Wonder if anyone sells 2" x 3.5" glassine envelopes.
posted by baylink at 6:35 PM on January 13, 2001

I love this stuff. I know that they have been out for awhile, but CD-ROM business cards are interesting. Expensive, though, especially when you can just give someone an URL...
posted by tranquileye at 8:27 PM on January 13, 2001

Yeah, and those CD-R business cards, if they were *chopped* rather than *molded*, tend to crack at the sliced edges.

I'm not real happy with them; I cam imagine them flying apart at the cracks in a 50x drive...
posted by baylink at 9:00 PM on January 13, 2001

baylink, yeah, the fortune cookie is one of the ones i'd actually do myself.
posted by lia at 10:51 PM on January 13, 2001

Heh. Some friends of mine bought some weed off this guy and he gave them a business card w/ little pot leaves on it...
posted by sonofsamiam at 11:59 AM on January 14, 2001

Phycon reminds me of Aliens, where Burke's card had his contact info encoded onto it, so when Ripley drops it into her videophone, it calls him directly -- to extend this, if she dropped it in a fax it could fax him, or in a computer it could email him or store his data elsewhere, etc. etc. And that was in 1986. (Think Syd Mead had anything to say about that? :)
posted by teradome at 10:49 PM on January 15, 2001