Guides
Card design, explained properly.
What a payment card design has to work around, how a project runs, and what it costs. Written for the people who commission them.
Specifications
Payment card design specifications
The dimensions, bleed, safe zones and fixed elements a payment card design has to work around, and which of them are negotiable.
7 min read
Process
How a card design project runs
What actually happens between commissioning a card design and holding final files, and where projects usually lose time.
6 min read
Manufacturing
Choosing a card manufacturer
Card producers specialise, and the wrong one costs a launch date. How to shortlist, what to ask, and why sampling is the first real test of a design.
7 min read
Pricing
What card design costs
Why card design quotes vary so widely, what actually drives the price, and how fixed-price packages compare with day rates and agency retainers.
6 min read
Metal
Designing a metal card
What changes when a card is made of metal: construction, engraving and etching, weight, colour limits and the design decisions that follow.
7 min read
Virtual
Designing virtual cards for apps and wallets
A virtual card is viewed at thumbnail size on a screen you do not control. What that changes about layout, contrast, type and colour.
6 min read
These guides describe what is publicly specified. For everything else we name the authority: your card scheme, your issuing partner and your manufacturer are the sources of truth for their own requirements.
Design a card people actually want.
Fixed scope, clear concepts and final files, for virtual, plastic and metal cards.