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Design Critique

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Design Critique
« on: July 20, 2013, 04:02:08 PM »
 

kylebyrne

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Hi guys, I'm Kyle Byrne a young designer and magician from the UK. For a month or so I've been trying to come up with a design for my ideal deck of cards, and so far this is the fruits of my labour, it's still unfinished but I thought i'd bring it to you guys for any criticism, advice or just to see what the general consensus on the idea is. Basically I wanted a deck which was barebones, made for the card cheat, Ladrone means thief in spanish and its from that idea that I've based the design, with a retro spanish style font and the burnt red colour. I didnt want any distracting graphics to take away from the actual skill of card handling. I welcome any comments about how I could improve it and what you feel should be done.
Many Thanks
Kyle
 

Re: Design Critique
« Reply #1 on: July 20, 2013, 06:58:30 PM »
 

Don Boyer

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Hi guys, I'm Kyle Byrne a young designer and magician from the UK. For a month or so I've been trying to come up with a design for my ideal deck of cards, and so far this is the fruits of my labour, it's still unfinished but I thought i'd bring it to you guys for any criticism, advice or just to see what the general consensus on the idea is. Basically I wanted a deck which was barebones, made for the card cheat, Ladrone means thief in spanish and its from that idea that I've based the design, with a retro spanish style font and the burnt red colour. I didnt want any distracting graphics to take away from the actual skill of card handling. I welcome any comments about how I could improve it and what you feel should be done.
Many Thanks
Kyle

Well - naming your deck "Thief" might not be a great idea...  :))

Seriously, though, I like the burnt red.  Do consider a different name - there's enough people that know Spanish that you might have trouble selling it, so to speak.  It's like when Chevrolet tried selling the Chevy Nova in South America - they failed to catch on to the fact that "no va" in Spanish means "doesn't go"!  What ladrone would want to advertise the fact that he's a ladrone?

I do love what you did with the "L", though.  You could keep that, easily.  If you shortened the "L" on each half just a little bit, giving each of them a separate bottom line, that would be one cool-looking and elegant back.  Are you thinking of a borderless back for this?  It has an elegant, old-school casino look to it.

What are you thinking of for the faces?
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Re: Design Critique
« Reply #2 on: July 20, 2013, 07:06:17 PM »
 

kylebyrne

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Yeah i get what you mean about the name haha, I actually came up with the L design before the name and just searched for any word starting with L that could fit, so any other L word recommendations are welcome ;) I'm not sure if i completely understand what you mean about shortening the L, and with regards to borders I was either thinking borderless or as thin as possible borders. I haven't really thought about the faces much yet, they'll probably be quite simple and classic
 

Re: Design Critique
« Reply #3 on: July 20, 2013, 07:23:30 PM »
 

Don Boyer

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Yeah i get what you mean about the name haha, I actually came up with the L design before the name and just searched for any word starting with L that could fit, so any other L word recommendations are welcome ;) I'm not sure if i completely understand what you mean about shortening the L, and with regards to borders I was either thinking borderless or as thin as possible borders. I haven't really thought about the faces much yet, they'll probably be quite simple and classic

What about the plain, the simple...  Lux?  Or Luxe, if you prefer.  It's sort of '50s/'60s, like the heyday of the Vegas casinos.
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Re: Design Critique
« Reply #4 on: July 20, 2013, 07:26:18 PM »
 

kylebyrne

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I really like luxe, I think that could fit well. And yeah that 50s/60s look is exactly what i'm going for, just getting rid of all the unnecessary fancy new stuff and going back to basics
« Last Edit: July 20, 2013, 07:30:28 PM by kylebyrne »
 

Re: Design Critique
« Reply #5 on: July 21, 2013, 12:38:04 AM »
 

Don Boyer

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I really like luxe, I think that could fit well. And yeah that 50s/60s look is exactly what i'm going for, just getting rid of all the unnecessary fancy new stuff and going back to basics

So I'm thinking that your deck's faces will either be 100% USPC standard or they'll be done in the "Luxe" style of that era somehow.  Go for the Luxe style - I don't know that we've ever seen a deck done like that.  It need not be some overbearing overhaul, just some simple touches to make it look like how people of the time imagined the future would look.  Think of the style of the Stardust casino when it first opened and the cars that were coming out of Detroit back then and that should get you moving in the right direction.  Also anything from the '64 World's Fair and the style used by airlines to decorate their planes and design their flight attendant uniforms!
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Re: Design Critique
« Reply #6 on: July 21, 2013, 05:01:20 AM »
 

kylebyrne

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Looking through some of the stuff from that era it all looks very geometrical and sharp angled, so maybe something utilising that, like taking all of the curves out of the standard faces, making them more simple and abstract, just made up of shapes. But then again part of me thinks if I am going for the casino style maybe they should have standard faces as all of those did.
« Last Edit: July 21, 2013, 05:34:09 AM by kylebyrne »
 

Re: Design Critique
« Reply #7 on: July 21, 2013, 06:04:16 AM »
 

Don Boyer

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Looking through some of the stuff from that era it all looks very geometrical and sharp angled, so maybe something utilising that, like taking all of the curves out of the standard faces, making them more simple and abstract, just made up of shapes. But then again part of me thinks if I am going for the casino style maybe they should have standard faces as all of those did.

I'm not suggesting a vast, drastic deviation from the traditional faces.  Traditional is fine.  I would suggest a few color tweaks, perhaps - just something to make them more distinctive from your ordinary pack of Bicycle Rider Backs.  Many casinos switch the bright red of the standard faces for a deeper red - almost a blood red.  I find it's easier on the eyes, though the actual reason for the change had to do with the black-and-white security cameras of the day - a bright red on a white background was difficult to spot and read, while a deep red showed up as a dark gray.  Even today's color cameras catch the deeper color more easily.  Perhaps that burnt red you're using on the backs would be a great color swap.  You might even consider making the courts more monochromatic, using just black and shades of burnt red on white.

If you wanted to customize in any way at all, make it "minimally invasive" - for example, do you recall the "star" patterns that were a common decorative touch back then?  They looked a little bit like jacks, even down to sometimes having little rounded bits at some of the tips of the "rays", and we often portrayed in a metallic gold or silver.  You could design a few of those, but make them small and unobtrusive - about the size of an index pip - and scatter them pretty much at random throughout the cards of the deck, but just on the faces of the cards, and use metallic silver or gold inks.  For the court cards, you could incorporate them into their clothing.

They'd also make a nice decorative touch for the tuck box, done in a metallic foil.  I wouldn't go too crazy on the box, either, however - no embossing and little use of foil if any.  It's not how cards were packaged then - you need not be slavish to the design of the era, but some authenticity in the appearance is called for here.
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Re: Design Critique
« Reply #8 on: July 21, 2013, 04:49:35 PM »
 

kylebyrne

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Is there anywhere I can get the standard face cards to have a mess about with that you know of?
 

Re: Design Critique
« Reply #9 on: July 21, 2013, 05:33:34 PM »
 

Ben Taylor

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You can get them from USPCC. You will have to contact them through their custom card division.

Website:
http://www.bicyclecards.com/custom-playing-cards
E-Mail:
Customdivision@usplayingcard.com
 

Re: Design Critique
« Reply #10 on: July 22, 2013, 06:06:01 AM »
 

ruicorreia

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Hi.
I think the design has possibilities.
But there is one thing: as soon as I saw the logo, it kind of remind me of the back of the Fontaine deck. It's only me with this opinion?
Enthusiast collector
 

Re: Design Critique
« Reply #11 on: July 22, 2013, 12:26:47 PM »
 

Don Boyer

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Hi.
I think the design has possibilities.
But there is one thing: as soon as I saw the logo, it kind of remind me of the back of the Fontaine deck. It's only me with this opinion?

Sure, there are some similarities.  It probably has a lot to do with that deck and this deck being derived from the same source material - classic old-school casino decks of the '50s and '60s.  That and four quarters will still leave you with a buck, if you know what I mean...  :))

BTW: check this out - someone's selling the digital files of USPC's standard faces in two formats for $15.

http://www.lybrary.com/52-standard-american-card-faces-p-33036.html

Lybrary.com is a fantastic resource for magic AND for DIY card creation, either for producing handmade decks or for using existing cards to make handmade gaffs.  They mostly sell downloads, but they do have a few files on discs (like the entire Tarbell Course) and sell some of the hardware needed for DIY projects such as I previously mentioned.
« Last Edit: July 22, 2013, 12:40:36 PM by Don Boyer »
Card Illusionist, NYC Area
Playing Card Design & Development Consultant
Deck Tailoring: Custom Alterations for Magicians and Card Mechanics
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