March 03, 2004

holy cow, bryan's famous.

Bryan Boyer won ID Magazine’s Global ID Card Competition.

And the winner is…Bryan Boyer of Providence, Rhode Island, for a card that probes the complex nature of identity with devastating minimalism. A small, oblong slip of paper represents the modest resources of most people on earth. “What does an I.D. card mean for those without enough money to buy a car or have a credit card?” Boyer explained. “Do you really exist in this world if you don’t participate in the great global finance machine?” Divided into sections, the card is labeled with airport-code-like abbreviations representing the questions, Where have you been? Where are you now? Where are you going? Where did you begin? Where do you wish you were? One’s true self can be gleaned from the matrix of these responses, Boyer insisted, as much as anyone’s identity can be pinned down in an age when facial features, names, and addresses are equally fluid. “Answering the five questions on the card tells us who you are now, and who you may be tomorrow,” he said.

Bryan Boyer’s winning design for a global I.D. card forgoes photos and statistics in favor of short-hand notes describing the card holder’s past, present, and future destinations.

Yes!