A New Way to Stimulate the Economy.
November 28, 2008 3:42 PM Subscribe
100 artists from around the world designed credit cards for a Japanese bank and Visa.
Takes a while to load (the first time). While the sound can be turned off, the somewhat annoying interface cannot.
Takes a while to load (the first time). While the sound can be turned off, the somewhat annoying interface cannot.
Also, if you know, what kind of deal did the artist/designers get?
posted by R. Mutt at 3:50 PM on November 28, 2008
posted by R. Mutt at 3:50 PM on November 28, 2008
The interface I like.
The "art"? Bleh.
It's interesting that the credit card companies, in the midst of an econopocalypse, would choose to pimp out the work of the most poor, least-likely-to-get-credit professional out there, the humble artist.
Does this somehow make them hipper? Does it make the artist more legitimate?
I felt the same way when Camel used all those tattoo designs for box art...like those artists that did it sold out the sacred craft and visual language of tattooing, something they did not invent or improve upon, to a giant corporation for a few measly bucks, all in order to sell cancer to children.
posted by chronkite at 3:58 PM on November 28, 2008
The "art"? Bleh.
It's interesting that the credit card companies, in the midst of an econopocalypse, would choose to pimp out the work of the most poor, least-likely-to-get-credit professional out there, the humble artist.
Does this somehow make them hipper? Does it make the artist more legitimate?
I felt the same way when Camel used all those tattoo designs for box art...like those artists that did it sold out the sacred craft and visual language of tattooing, something they did not invent or improve upon, to a giant corporation for a few measly bucks, all in order to sell cancer to children.
posted by chronkite at 3:58 PM on November 28, 2008
A little more information here. As you probably already know, clicking on the card itself offers up some details.
posted by gman at 3:59 PM on November 28, 2008
posted by gman at 3:59 PM on November 28, 2008
I'm willing to bet 700 billion that credit card companies have internal consumer studies that show that the more like a fashion accessory a credit card looks, the more likely a person is to use it without emotionally feeling as if they're spending money.
posted by specialfriend at 4:05 PM on November 28, 2008 [8 favorites]
posted by specialfriend at 4:05 PM on November 28, 2008 [8 favorites]
The interface I like.
Really? To me it follows the single rule of interface design when presenting art- make it as shittingly annoying to use and as up itself as possible.
I wonder if placing art on credit cards makes it more difficult for the beleaguered consumer to cut in half.
posted by mattoxic at 4:08 PM on November 28, 2008 [3 favorites]
Really? To me it follows the single rule of interface design when presenting art- make it as shittingly annoying to use and as up itself as possible.
I wonder if placing art on credit cards makes it more difficult for the beleaguered consumer to cut in half.
posted by mattoxic at 4:08 PM on November 28, 2008 [3 favorites]
I especially liked the cassette tape and the partially unwrapped chocolate bar. Neat!
Also, is "Aiko Marui" the japanese equivalent of "John Smith?" ( A bland, super-common name.)
Finally."like those artists that did it sold out the sacred craft and visual language of tattooing"
Oh, come on. Hyperbole anyone?
posted by oddman at 4:19 PM on November 28, 2008
Also, is "Aiko Marui" the japanese equivalent of "John Smith?" ( A bland, super-common name.)
Finally."like those artists that did it sold out the sacred craft and visual language of tattooing"
Oh, come on. Hyperbole anyone?
posted by oddman at 4:19 PM on November 28, 2008
Firefox, latest Flash, and Javascript on... all I get is a blank screen.
posted by crapmatic at 4:20 PM on November 28, 2008
posted by crapmatic at 4:20 PM on November 28, 2008
I hated the interface as well. What's the point of those stupid frames around each card except to make the actual image of the card as small as possible?
posted by peacheater at 4:24 PM on November 28, 2008
posted by peacheater at 4:24 PM on November 28, 2008
crapmatic - check to make sure your computer is on.
posted by gman at 4:30 PM on November 28, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by gman at 4:30 PM on November 28, 2008 [1 favorite]
Finally."like those artists that did it sold out the sacred craft and visual language of tattooing"
Oh, come on. Hyperbole anyone?
I guess it might have sounded more like hyperbole to me if I hadn't been tattooing for the past 14 years.
Is it sacred, to me?
Yep.
posted by chronkite at 4:31 PM on November 28, 2008
Oh, come on. Hyperbole anyone?
I guess it might have sounded more like hyperbole to me if I hadn't been tattooing for the past 14 years.
Is it sacred, to me?
Yep.
posted by chronkite at 4:31 PM on November 28, 2008
There may be a more direct way of selling out but I can't think of it.
posted by motty at 4:43 PM on November 28, 2008
posted by motty at 4:43 PM on November 28, 2008
There may be a more direct way of selling out but I can't think of it.
Having school children redesign US currency?
posted by gman at 4:47 PM on November 28, 2008
Having school children redesign US currency?
posted by gman at 4:47 PM on November 28, 2008
Specialfriend, absolutely. It actually worked the opposite way for me. My first credit card was WalMart branded. Don't know why, think it was a good low limit student card or something. I hated dragging that thing out, so didn't get myself in over my head.
posted by yellowbinder at 5:09 PM on November 28, 2008
posted by yellowbinder at 5:09 PM on November 28, 2008
Yep...... The cards? Meh. The site design? Very nice.
posted by peewinkle at 5:38 PM on November 28, 2008
posted by peewinkle at 5:38 PM on November 28, 2008
I wonder if placing art on credit cards makes it more difficult for the beleaguered consumer to cut in half.
Yeah, the credit card co.s should let people upload pictures of their kids and/or pets and print them on their card..... wait , wait, nooooo delete delete delete.
posted by secondhand at 5:40 PM on November 28, 2008
Yeah, the credit card co.s should let people upload pictures of their kids and/or pets and print them on their card..... wait , wait, nooooo delete delete delete.
posted by secondhand at 5:40 PM on November 28, 2008
None of the designs really work with the cards or show any awareness of the card's form, it's purpose, or features. The logos and numbers, in particular, just seem to fade into clutter.
Laaaaame.
posted by The Whelk at 5:41 PM on November 28, 2008
Laaaaame.
posted by The Whelk at 5:41 PM on November 28, 2008
Let's tell Stephen Wolfram about #33 and see what happens.
posted by you at 5:46 PM on November 28, 2008
posted by you at 5:46 PM on November 28, 2008
None of the designs really work with the cards or show any awareness of the card's form, it's purpose, or features.
I suspect that is because drawing the actual interest rate across the front might upset the client?
posted by R. Mutt at 5:59 PM on November 28, 2008 [1 favorite]
I suspect that is because drawing the actual interest rate across the front might upset the client?
posted by R. Mutt at 5:59 PM on November 28, 2008 [1 favorite]
I'm going to break away from the group and say I HATE this interface, but think the designs are kinda neat. I've honestly thought about switching banks to get a debit card that's awesomer than the plain green that I've got going on. Then again, I'm kinda the target demographic for "OOOH! It's PURTY!" I'll admit, I chose an iBook for my laptop when I went off to college because it was ORANGE. (That shows you how long ago this was. 'Scuse me while I feel old.)
(How can you not love the Guitar Hero Panda [#006]?!)
(Other total cuties: the piggies [#012], the kitty in the cherry tree [#016], the kitty in the coffee cup [#029], the animal parade [#032], the bunny rabbit [#086], the hippo [#095])
I would personally choose Illuminate [#051] because HOLY HELL, THAT IS AN AWESOME RIFF ON THE US DOLLAR BILL PYRAMID-THINGUM.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 6:39 PM on November 28, 2008
(How can you not love the Guitar Hero Panda [#006]?!)
(Other total cuties: the piggies [#012], the kitty in the cherry tree [#016], the kitty in the coffee cup [#029], the animal parade [#032], the bunny rabbit [#086], the hippo [#095])
I would personally choose Illuminate [#051] because HOLY HELL, THAT IS AN AWESOME RIFF ON THE US DOLLAR BILL PYRAMID-THINGUM.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 6:39 PM on November 28, 2008
I like to pronounce hyperbole as "hyper-bowly". I makes it sound neat.
posted by blue_beetle at 7:07 PM on November 28, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by blue_beetle at 7:07 PM on November 28, 2008 [1 favorite]
I suspect that is because drawing the actual interest rate across the front might upset the client?
That would, done right, be really, fucking, neat.
posted by The Whelk at 8:06 PM on November 28, 2008
Is everyone high or what? That interface was awful. I liked the cards though.
posted by puke & cry at 8:24 PM on November 28, 2008
posted by puke & cry at 8:24 PM on November 28, 2008
Is everyone high or what?
Oh, yes. Sorry. I did Thanksgiving dinner with my mom and it's dry, out-of-box nightmare suffused with how grandma is gonna die and the age old saga of How Patty fucked us over, I love her to death, I just don't like it when she tries to do normal family stuff, like a Wookie in an Easter Bunny outfit. Unnatural.
And then we (Me and my brother) did the traditional thing of going out for an egg roll or samosa after, except he's got a girlfriend now and god that makes me feel old, so she tagged along.
So now I'm at my my dad's for ANOTHER turkey injection, and no it's not very good, but no one is screaming and his kid is quite cool (I got to play Bioshock, finally, he kicked my ass) and there are drinks and THC-buttered popcorn for the adults and noone has a fit if I want to spread some time with my imginary internet friends. So, yeah
The interface sucked, hard, and the designs..well, just not very good.
posted by The Whelk at 9:45 PM on November 28, 2008
Oddman, "Aiko" is a fairly common girl's name (although less commonly given right now than it was a generation ago) and "Marui" is one of the companies involved in this.
Meanwhile, when I got my credit card here I was given the choice between no special art, Miffy, or sexy schoolgirl in cherry-blossom petal cloud. I chose the art-free version, although later a friend pointed out that I should have gone for one of the others to ensure that I only ever got it out of my wallet when I really had to.
I will also note as a counterweight to the sellout thing that credit card companies don't behave as loathsomely here as elsewhere, at least in my experience. For one thing, "revolving door" credit is less common: most cards let you decide when you buy something whether you will pay the money back next month or over a given number of succeeding months, and that's it. You can't gradually let your debt crank up to the credit limit, because you're in default and in trouble after the first missed month. So cardholders are actually encouraged to use their cards the only sensible way: as an alternative to on-hand cash for items the capital for which you are very sure you have. I'm sure there are still folks in credit card hell here, but it's a lot rarer.
posted by No-sword at 10:05 PM on November 28, 2008
Meanwhile, when I got my credit card here I was given the choice between no special art, Miffy, or sexy schoolgirl in cherry-blossom petal cloud. I chose the art-free version, although later a friend pointed out that I should have gone for one of the others to ensure that I only ever got it out of my wallet when I really had to.
I will also note as a counterweight to the sellout thing that credit card companies don't behave as loathsomely here as elsewhere, at least in my experience. For one thing, "revolving door" credit is less common: most cards let you decide when you buy something whether you will pay the money back next month or over a given number of succeeding months, and that's it. You can't gradually let your debt crank up to the credit limit, because you're in default and in trouble after the first missed month. So cardholders are actually encouraged to use their cards the only sensible way: as an alternative to on-hand cash for items the capital for which you are very sure you have. I'm sure there are still folks in credit card hell here, but it's a lot rarer.
posted by No-sword at 10:05 PM on November 28, 2008
Yeah, the credit card co.s should let people upload pictures of their kids and/or pets and print them on their card..... wait , wait, nooooo delete delete delete.
I've been watching those Capital One ads for a while now.
posted by gman at 11:16 AM on November 29, 2008
I've been watching those Capital One ads for a while now.
posted by gman at 11:16 AM on November 29, 2008
The Whelk, #035 integrates the card title and the chip into the design. I think it's the one I like best, but the horrible type on the card itself ruins a lot of patterns that would probably be pretty great by themselves (and not on a credit card).
I would love to know the artists' thought process when the proposal first came up. It's like giving the credit cards a somewhat hip smiley face, which is a bit wicked given how unfriendly and unbenign the fucking things really are.
Also, the interface just set off my vertigo, literally. Thanks, EPOS Card!
posted by carbide at 2:32 PM on November 29, 2008
I would love to know the artists' thought process when the proposal first came up. It's like giving the credit cards a somewhat hip smiley face, which is a bit wicked given how unfriendly and unbenign the fucking things really are.
Also, the interface just set off my vertigo, literally. Thanks, EPOS Card!
posted by carbide at 2:32 PM on November 29, 2008
gman - I also thought about those Cap One ads. But most folks aren't really that creative, so this is a quick fix. I wonder if Capitol One would check for copyrights, say if you uploaded someone else's art.
For integration, check #55. not as complete as #35, but more fun (IMO). #2 and 3, weird. And probably annoying after a few weeks of use.
#73 (Ga-Peee) - just disturbing. Is it a little kid peeing?
No-sword: I like the idea of choosing an offensive design, with the specific intent to decrease credit card use. "Oh, this? Yeah, that's not my son peeing on the card. It's a weird Japanese thing. And can also get a packet of crisps?"
posted by filthy light thief at 3:12 PM on November 29, 2008
For integration, check #55. not as complete as #35, but more fun (IMO). #2 and 3, weird. And probably annoying after a few weeks of use.
#73 (Ga-Peee) - just disturbing. Is it a little kid peeing?
No-sword: I like the idea of choosing an offensive design, with the specific intent to decrease credit card use. "Oh, this? Yeah, that's not my son peeing on the card. It's a weird Japanese thing. And can also get a packet of crisps?"
posted by filthy light thief at 3:12 PM on November 29, 2008
This doesn't seem too different from having personalized checks. If I could choose a nifty design for me credit card, I would; got Dilbert on my checks already.
It's been almost a decade since a friend of mine lived in Japan to teach English, so her knowledge on the subject might be out of date, but she told me that although Japanese people have cards for everything (transit pass, phone card, etc), they're somewhat averse to using credit cards. I wonder if that's still true and that this collection is to push people towards using credit cards more.
posted by vaghjar at 6:56 PM on November 30, 2008
It's been almost a decade since a friend of mine lived in Japan to teach English, so her knowledge on the subject might be out of date, but she told me that although Japanese people have cards for everything (transit pass, phone card, etc), they're somewhat averse to using credit cards. I wonder if that's still true and that this collection is to push people towards using credit cards more.
posted by vaghjar at 6:56 PM on November 30, 2008
My favourite was the "You are a greedy tasteless cunt and you suck" one.
posted by strawberryviagra at 1:00 AM on December 1, 2008
posted by strawberryviagra at 1:00 AM on December 1, 2008
Is there any way to download this to share with an offline friend via USB key?
posted by Shepherd at 3:34 PM on December 3, 2008
posted by Shepherd at 3:34 PM on December 3, 2008
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posted by R. Mutt at 3:48 PM on November 28, 2008