Also, a quick question to Don and Alex, since I have now seen your names on pretty much every post 
This is my first deck, and yeah it was more of an art project than deck design, but I am now 100% enthralled at the idea of designing decks. I would like to get some specific advice from you guys, maybe off the forums, as it seems you have all the lingo and tricks down to a science.
Thanks
You may not have noticed my signature - I do consulting for deck designers. I take someone new to the art form and discuss certain elements of design that make up a deck of cards - it's a little surprising how many people want to make a deck, but they design something that looks as if they've never seen one, never mind used one! Of course, like any rule of design, you can break them - but you only do so for good reason. For example, it's a "soft" rule of playing cards that you design a deck with a two-way back design - it looks the same when turned 180 degrees. It's a soft rule because that's one of the rules that people will break to the benefit of the design. The rule is in place because a novice card cheat can use it to identify cards when dealt - if the whole deck is turned one way but the courts and Aces are turned the other way, you'll know immediately when you're dealing high cards (or if you switch that to the 2-7 spot cards, you'll know the low cards in a low or high-low game). Beginning magicians will also use the same feature to their benefit. But sometimes, the design calls for it, and it just fits. I will say, however, that a one-way back will be significantly less popular than a two-way back - some collectors avoid them completely - the design must be strong enough and compelling enough that people will want it regardless. THAT'S why it works for your deck, big-time. Also, since your whole deck is one-way, you can make the backs so as well without any problems.
Beyond that, I give people some of my insight into the marketplace, most specifically as it applies to the "card community" - around here, that's magicians, collectors, flourishers/cardists and the occasional poker player. We don't exclude poker players, but most of the serious poker players want just one kind of deck - plastic, bridge-sized, durable, with traditional faces and two-way backs. It's a narrow market niche and custom decks like this send them running for the hills. Now, if you're talking about "neighborhood poker nights", that's a different story...
I've assisted with Kickstarter projects before, most notably with Uusi, a Chicago-based design firm. They produced three decks on Kickstarter - I met them when I backed the first one (Blue Blood) and worked with them on the next two (Bohemia, Royal Optik).
Send me a PM with a phone number and a good time to call and we can talk, if you like. I'm a night owl - I work graveyard shifts in Manhattan, off on Wednesday and Thursday nights. Most times I can call from work, if it's quiet - it usually is.
(Read 2317 times)
