Michael Andrews brings up some interesting concerns about cards in Are UI Cards good for content? However, I’m left thinking that most of the “cons” in the article are actually Information Architecture problems, not problems with the card metaphor:
UI cards can contribute to content usability problems that may not be immediately evident. Users often like UI cards when they encounter them, and don’t notice their limitations. They see tidy cards often with colorful thumbnail images. The cards seem optimized to make good first impressions. But often, the cards end up squashing the content that must go in them, or omitting content details that don’t fit the layout vision.
If content is squashed and truncated in cards, it’s not the card element’s fault, it’s the content’s fault. It happens when content isn’t written while keeping the context of use in mind.
Here’s another example:
Another issue with UI cards is their lack of hierarchy. When all cards are the same size, all cards look equally important, whether they have detailed information, time sensitive information, sparse information, or optional information.
Again, visual hierarchy is a larger design problem, and not the fault of cards.
I point this out because it reminded me of one of the big dangers in design that we have to watch out for. We often see a UI issue and immediately switch out the pattern instead of trying to understand what the the real problem is. It’s great if we can look at something we designed and say, “Hmm, that doesn’t work.” But we have to go further and also understand why it doesn’t work before we just take the easy why out and replace the UI element.
If content is squished on cards, is it because we used cards, or because we didn’t write the content concisely enough to be easily consumable in small spaces? If all cards look the same, should we stop using cards, or design different card types to address visual hierarchy better? I would argue that in both cases, the latter should at least be considered. Of course, if cards are wrong for the interface, then burn it with fire. But be sure.
Further reading on cards: