Payments Censored

The co-founders of Travel & Payments, a payments consulting agency, had a bright idea: create a payment-themed party game to make their industry... more interesting? Enter Payments Censored, a sleek game designed to entertain industry professionals. It started as a one-off party hit but quickly evolved into a cobranded product for other companies. My role? Turning their idea into a professional, engaging design that struck the perfect balance between fun and corporate.

The first draft kept things minimal and professional but revealed several critical limitations when T&P started receiving interest from other companies wanting to create their own versions.

The original design was too rigid – featuring T&P's specific branding, and messaging that couldn't easily adapt to different identities. The design did not leverage recognizable visual metaphors that would resonate with the target audience of payments professionals. More importantly, the design lacked the flexibility to serve as a genuine marketing tool. It was essentially a one-off product rather than a scalable business opportunity that could generate revenue through partnerships and licensing.

The solution required a complete strategic shift from a static design to a flexible design system. I drew inspiration from the payments industry itself – specifically, the ubiquitous credit card that everyone in the target audience would immediately recognize and relate to.

The credit card layout wasn't just aesthetic – it was storytelling. By mimicking the familiar card design with "digits," contactless symbols, and chip placement, the game instantly communicated its payments theme while feeling premium and professional.

I developed a template-based approach where partner companies could seamlessly integrate their logos, and messaging without compromising the overall design integrity. The layout accommodated various logo sizes and orientations while maintaining visual hierarchy and readability.

The new design considered real-world manufacturing constraints and costs. By creating standardized dimensions and print specifications, the game could be produced efficiently for different clients while maintaining consistent quality.

Despite the visual overhaul, I ensured the gameplay remained intuitive. The card backs retained the clean, functional layout of the original – one main word and five restricted words – proving that innovation doesn't require sacrificing usability.

The approach transformed Payments Censored from a single-use promotional item into a sustainable product line that could grow T&P's business while genuinely entertaining their target audience.

The redesign transformed Payments Censored from a single-use party game into a versatile marketing tool that maintains its fun factor while serving as an effective business development asset.

Collaborators: Aniket Jadhav

Company: All work showcased here is solely for demonstration purposes. Rights, ownership, and intellectual property for these projects belong exclusively to Travel & Payments