13 votes

The design of Apple's credit card

9 comments

  1. [7]
    unknown user
    Link
    This kind of design feels off: not minimalist, but rather lacking. It's what I do when I try to be minimalist without really understanding what needs to be there. I like the use of titanium....

    This kind of design feels off: not minimalist, but rather lacking. It's what I do when I try to be minimalist without really understanding what needs to be there.

    I like the use of titanium. Credit cards are meant to be carried around damn near everywhere, yet the plastic is so brittle I can't fathom how some people could put them into pockets of their own, let alone on the arm pockets of their coats. There's also a certain solidity to metal items, even so small and slim, that I appreciate, and I'd gladly use a titanium card.

    The font choice is peculiar. Why rounded? Seems to me that it makes the whole thing a little too whimsical, which is the opposite of what Apple is. They usually take great care about their design, and take themselves seriously.

    (On a similar wavelength: it's the first website outside of my own and the creator's that uses the Inter font. Pleasure to see.)

    8 votes
    1. [5]
      Cosmos
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      I personally cannot wrap my head around the metal credit card trend. The plastic ones were just fine imo. I'm not sure what you mean by putting them in pockets. My card goes into my wallet, where...

      I personally cannot wrap my head around the metal credit card trend. The plastic ones were just fine imo. I'm not sure what you mean by putting them in pockets. My card goes into my wallet, where it makes no difference if the card is metal or plastic.

      The biggest flaw I've recently come across is what happens when you want to destroy the credit card. You can't fold them easily, you can't shred them, and you can't cut them with a standard pair of scissors. So what do you do? I looked it up and apparently most banks allow you to mail the card back for them to destroy. But mailing a credit card makes me super uncomfortable.

      And the titanium sounds even stronger than the standard metal everyone else is using. The minimal, cosmetic gains of having a metal card are not worth the practical downsides.

      7 votes
      1. babypuncher
        Link Parent
        In the case of the physical Apple card, you shouldn't need to destroy it. Just disable it from the Wallet app. The card itself contains no useful information to any would-be thieves.

        In the case of the physical Apple card, you shouldn't need to destroy it. Just disable it from the Wallet app. The card itself contains no useful information to any would-be thieves.

        7 votes
      2. Greg
        Link Parent
        Huh, I hadn't even thought of that one! I've just been wondering how much they interfere with contactless payments... Thinking about disposal, I wonder if the ATM network could do the job? They...

        Huh, I hadn't even thought of that one! I've just been wondering how much they interfere with contactless payments...

        Thinking about disposal, I wonder if the ATM network could do the job? They already have the hardware to retain cards, and presumably there's some kind of standard signal from the bank that tells them when to do so, so if there was a button in the app to set that flag yourself then it'd just be a matter of feeding it into the nearest machine next time you pass one.

        3 votes
      3. [2]
        unknown user
        Link Parent
        How often have you necessitated destroying your card? I still have my first one as a memento of sorts. You can probably take a metal one to the workshop and use the metal-cutting tools on 'em.

        How often have you necessitated destroying your card? I still have my first one as a memento of sorts.

        You can probably take a metal one to the workshop and use the metal-cutting tools on 'em.

        2 votes
        1. Cosmos
          Link Parent
          Most recent instance was a credit card that had an approved user associated with it that no longer needed the card. Bank told me they could remove them from the account, but the card would still...

          Most recent instance was a credit card that had an approved user associated with it that no longer needed the card. Bank told me they could remove them from the account, but the card would still be valid since it was the same number as the original. So there was no choice but to destroy it.

          You can probably take a metal one to the workshop and use the metal-cutting tools on 'em.

          Yeah, there are many ways you can destroy the card. It's not indestructible, but they all require vastly more effort than a plastic one. And not everyone, including myself, has easy access to metal cutting tools.

          What I ultimately did was take a pair of meat scissors to it. It worked, but required a lot of force, and probably dulled the hell out of the scissors. Oh well. Also, the edges on the cut up pieces were pretty sharp. Could pose a safety hazard with kids around.

          3 votes
    2. [2]
      Comment deleted by author
      Link Parent
      1. unknown user
        Link Parent
        It certainly looks better than what I'm seeing on my plastic credit card now, but I'd use the regular, sharp-edge San Francisco or similar to show that this is a business card.

        I’d guess they’re trying to draw a consumer-friendly distinction between it and the ugly monospace fonts most cards use.

        It certainly looks better than what I'm seeing on my plastic credit card now, but I'd use the regular, sharp-edge San Francisco or similar to show that this is a business card.

        2 votes
  2. [2]
    Qis
    Link
    What makes this interesting to the Apple fans around here?

    What makes this interesting to the Apple fans around here?

    1 vote
    1. unknown user
      Link Parent
      As a designer with a keen interest in industrial design, I find this kind of content fascinating. It doesn't matter to me whether it's Apple or any other firm, as long as their design is worth...

      As a designer with a keen interest in industrial design, I find this kind of content fascinating. It doesn't matter to me whether it's Apple or any other firm, as long as their design is worth considering, whether for its quality or for the lack thereof.

      10 votes