Thanks for your post GBAllison!

• Full bleed has been nixed, at the recommendation of just about every serious poker player or cardist who has seen the design.
• I'm actually moving the indices TODAY:) I have a personal preference for wide borders in my graphic design work, and I now realize that that was a silly thing to bring with me into a project like this. I may also shrink them a bit.
• Our Aces will be identifiable, and of course Jokers, but the kings/queens/jacks don't have an identifying trait at the moment.
• Now that we're looking at the very real possibility of failing to meet our goal by the end of the Kickstarter, we're considering how we'll re-launch the deck if that's the case. A matched pair of decks will be a part of that discussion.
• I'll talk to Shannon about one-eyed & suicide cards. That's actually something that hadn't occurred to me, but did occur to one of our team members.
• Glad you dig the pips! I seriously had no idea what I was doing there, but I like the result.
• I 75% like the index font. I feel like it's pointier in the numbers than the letters, and I chose it for the letters. I may be able to adjust the pointiness of the numbers to make it more uniform.

A Roller Derby rules card! That's brilliant! We actually had the idea to make a roller derby rules coloring book as a kind of kitschy item that teams could hand out at bouts, but this is a really cool way we could round out the deck.

I understand the hesitance about supporting a deck that isn't completely designed yet. I can tell you that it's my job to manage the art creation process and keep Shannon on track. The timeline posted to the Kickstarter page is an outside estimate, assuming that the art takes longer than we expect. Running a tattoo shop means Shannon is experienced with creating art on a schedule, so she can most definitely make it happen.

You don't know me, so I can offer no proof of our intentions, I can only tell you that while we're new to the world of playing cards, I'm a professional at what I do, and Shannon is a professional at what she does, and everyone on our team is extremely excited to hold a deck of these cards in our hand. We want this project to get finished and delivered rapidly as much as anyone!

Thanks Shadowkat,

We've looked into EPCC, and they're an attractive option for plan B (if the kickstarter doesn't get funded this time around). We've been marketing as a USPCC deck the entire time, so It'd be a bit of a bummer to have to tell our existing backers that we're changing printers. We just got a demo deck from EPCC today and the quality is faaantastic.

Thanks for sharing, we definitely appreciate it. I just want to hold a deck of these cards in my hand!

Thanks Don, lots to think about.

• I'm going to try some options with that card edge and see what I can come up with. I tend to prefer nice big margins in general, that one was a bit of a quandary when I got the art.

• Your idea for a pair of decks is very interesting. I'm going to bring that up as a possible stretch goal, though my guess is that it'll be too expensive. I also kinda hate to lose the one-way back, it's actually one of my favorite parts of the design, and really makes a statement about what the athletes are like... sweethearts who can knock you flat on your back.

• I've been toying with adding different cards to the tuck box. If nothing else, one of the upcoming courts might do the trick, possibly something with some actual derby action.

• I really love the idea of having the inspiration behind the cards represented in the video. With the project gaining funding as fast as it is, I think we could pull that off. Time to see if I can really use that copy of AfterEffects. We'll also be posting a lot of the in-process art for the remainder of the cards, and as soon as new cards are finished they'll go up in an update.

• I mocked up the tuck box without the obscuring card and will be adding it to the page shortly. I would love to do another deck, design it myself, and get some of those amazing foil or embossing effects on a nice heavy stock. The more I look at specialty decks, the more I realize how much talent is going into some of these things. The Jackson Robinson Sherlock Holmes deck... just incredible the amount of talent and patience it took to put that project together.

• I just checked up on postage rates, looks like postcards under 4x6 are 34¢ and letters under 1 ounce are 49¢.
http://postcalc.usps.gov/postcards.aspx

Thanks a million for taking the time to advise us! I'll try to apply what I can to our project, and if I ever design another deck, I'll be much better prepared. Looks like we just hit 20% funding, things are looking up.

Thanks Don!

I'm Steve, the designer/art director of Derby Deck, and Shannon is in charge of the illustrations. I really appreciate your offer to educate us on the finer points of card design. I'm a complete newbie to this world, but a print designer by profession.

One issue we've already grappled with is the Queen of Diamonds having a full-bleed colored background, and it was a tough call. We like that card so much aesthetically that we couldn't bear to bring in the background's margin and lose the amazing detail in the watercolor wash that Shannon painted. My ears are definitely open to any changes you think we might need.