Do you prefer minimalism or sophistication?

[Morpheus]

Hi guys, first post here on the forums, forgive me if I'm out of place to post this, but I'm wondering; what do you guys prefer in a deck design? Minimalist design elements (e.g. NOC decks or Rounders) Or sophisticated designs (most E and T11 decks)
Personally, I started out as a huge fan of E decks but as time has gone on I find myself more and more drawn to simplicity.
What do you guys think?

[xela]

I like minimalism but not lazy minimalism. NOC is lazy.

Also, minimalism =\= no depth. T11 Monarchs are minimal, but the lack of depth makes the design extremely boring to look at. Likewise, adding simple depth to a NOC design, like a radial gradient, would make the cards far more appealing.

EDIT: Welcome to the forums!

[10ofclubs]

I like minimalism but not lazy minimalism. NOC is lazy.

Also, minimalism =\= no depth. T11 Monarchs are minimal, but the lack of depth makes the design extremely boring to look at. Likewise, adding simple depth to a NOC design, like a radial gradient, would make the cards far more appealing.

EDIT: Welcome to the forums!

Could you give an example of a minimalist if deck you do find appealing, Alex?

In general, I find minimalism art very boring. I simply don't understand how it's better for a design to be basic rather than complex and interesting.

[agera94]

I like minimalism but not lazy minimalism. NOC is lazy.

Also, minimalism =\= no depth. T11 Monarchs are minimal, but the lack of depth makes the design extremely boring to look at. Likewise, adding simple depth to a NOC design, like a radial gradient, would make the cards far more appealing.

EDIT: Welcome to the forums!

Could you give an example of a minimalist if deck you do find appealing, Alex?

In general, I find minimalism art very boring. I simply don't understand how it's better for a design to be basic rather than complex and interesting.

When performing, sometimes having complex and appealing back designs can raise suspicion as people are more accustomed to seeing a standard rider back or even aladdin back design.

[kdklown]

I like minimalism but not lazy minimalism. NOC is lazy.

Also, minimalism =\= no depth. T11 Monarchs are minimal, but the lack of depth makes the design extremely boring to look at. Likewise, adding simple depth to a NOC design, like a radial gradient, would make the cards far more appealing.

EDIT: Welcome to the forums!

Could you give an example of a minimalist if deck you do find appealing, Alex?

In general, I find minimalism art very boring. I simply don't understand how it's better for a design to be basic rather than complex and interesting.

When performing, sometimes having complex and appealing back designs can raise suspicion as people are more accustomed to seeing a standard rider back or even aladdin back design.

Funny you say that.  If you step back and look at a classic Rider Back design as though you've never seen it before, it's pretty damn complex.  It is however what people are used to looking at so it becomes common.  Just funny how we tend to use Rider Backs as a contrast to complex. 

[agera94]

It is funny indeed. I guess that since it's such a more well recognised design people are more willing to accept it without doubt. But your point is very valid, if you've never seen the rider back design it would look incredibly complex.

[Sovereign]

Minimalist design elements (e.g. NOC decks or Rounders) Or sophisticated designs (most E and T11 decks)

I think you might be misusing those terms - minimalism can be extremely sophisticated, in design the term sophistication refers to how refined or developed the work is, not how complicated. In this case you maybe mean complex rather than sophisticated?
"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication" William Gaddis (totally stolen by Steve Jobs)

Phill

[Don Boyer]

Hi guys, first post here on the forums, forgive me if I'm out of place to post this, but I'm wondering; what do you guys prefer in a deck design? Minimalist design elements (e.g. NOC decks or Rounders) Or sophisticated designs (most E and T11 decks)
Personally, I started out as a huge fan of E decks but as time has gone on I find myself more and more drawn to simplicity.
What do you guys think?

First of all, I think I'm happy to see a new member!  You should make a topic for yourself on the "Introduce Yourself" board and give the gang a chance to get to know you better.

I'm in agreement with Sovereign in terms of how you're thinking minimal versus complex rather than sophisticated.  I've seen many minimal designs that are very sophisticated.  I actually don't have a preference between the two as a collector.  I think they both have their places in the custom deck world.

I will confess that as a magician, I'd probably steer away from the unfamiliar if performing for a general audience.  In such cases, it's not complex versus minimal - it's familiar versus unfamiliar.  I'd go for a familiar deck, and it tends to be easier to find gaffs in familiar designs.  I want to perform with something that my audience will recognize and identify with.

But there are exceptions for specialized audiences - for example, if I was performing at a hipster bar, I might bring something like Sentinels or the Mechanic deck, and if I knew there's be some Goth/emo-types around or it was near Halloween, I'd go for a good full-custom Karnival deck like Dose Redux or Inferno.

[John B.]

I like artsy designs. I perform with them all the time and people question them (are they trick cards?) no more then when I use riderbacks.

[Anthony]

As a collector I have no one prefereance, If I like the design and it lends itself well to the overall look of the deck, that's a win for me. As a professional though I could see where this becomes a situational choice as well as a personal preferance. I think John B has a valid point though, I think people/audiences in general always think a magician has a "Trick" deck regardless of what it may look like.

[Morpheus]

I like minimalism but not lazy minimalism. NOC is lazy.

Also, minimalism =\= no depth. T11 Monarchs are minimal, but the lack of depth makes the design extremely boring to look at. Likewise, adding simple depth to a NOC design, like a radial gradient, would make the cards far more appealing.

EDIT: Welcome to the forums!

Yeah, I see what you mean about NOC; personally the only deck I really like out of that series is the summer orange, because the color just pops.
I also agree about the Monarchs, I was pretty disappointed with those.