I just checked in online for a flight to California tomorrow on Virgin America, and was pleasantly surprised by how cleverly their boarding pass is designed. It’s recognizably optimized for a standard letter-sized sheet of paper, with instructions to fold the printed sheet into quarters.

Over the years a number of enterprising designers, including Peter Smart, Timoni West, Tyler Thompson and others, have taken it upon themselves to propose redesigns for the hoary old boarding pass. The results have generally been fascinating, at least. But Virgin America’s designers (probably a team from an agency?) may have edged them all out, I think, if for no other reason than it acknowledges that these documents almost always get folded up for convenience.

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