Back story by Randy Butterfield
When starting on the ORNATE series my goal was to create a "Black" deck of playing cards that was functional for a standard Poker game. I play Poker regularly and have noticed that every time we try to introduce a Black deck it wouldn't last more than a hand or two. The quick removal was usually due to the lack of suit color recognition and small Indice fonts in the corners. If Poker players can not easily tell what their opponents have face up, they are quick to boot a deck!
In my opinion the problem with the suit recognition stems from the Black background color. Almost everyone has grown up playing with standard, white background decks of cards. We are practically hardwired to associate Black with the Spade and Club suits and Red with the Heart and Diamond suits. So, when we see a Black background, our first instinct is to think "Spade or Club". Even the Red corner Indices and PIPs (for Hearts and Diamonds) wouldn't help much, as they are secondary to the abundance of Black. When playing a game like Poker this delay of suit color recognition could result in long and frustrating hands!
The first design element I wanted to incorporate into the ORNATES was a Red background for the Hearts and Diamonds and a Black/Dark Grey background for the Spades and Clubs. It's my theory that these different colored backgrounds would help achieve instant suit color recognition.
The decision to use a large, thick font for the corner Indices was to allow for easier card recognition from across a card table. A lot of custom decks are using aesthetically-pleasing fonts that may look great, but they aren't always large or bold enough to be readable from a few feet away. And lastly, I wanted to add a border to remove the chipping problem with Black decks. After playing around with the border details and overall design it became clear right away that I wanted to take the look into the Regal and ORNATE direction you see today!
thanks, Randy Butterfield
The Battle
Ornates designed by Randy vs Allure designed by Noel
Poll
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