Hello everyone.
I was invited to come check out the thread here. Thanks for the invite.
Although the face cards will be standard, I am considering the idea of adding a "secret" within the faces that will give clues (along with social media clues) and need to be deciphered to where various rewards have been strategically placed around the US. It has already been planned. Just need to decide.
I am more than welcome to answer any questions. I'll be popping in when I can.
Please let us know if and when that becomes a feature. Personally, however, it sounds more like a gimmick and would distract from the deck's primary purpose, don't you think? We're talking about a designer deck of cards in a short print run, not some multimillion-copy children's book like "Masquerade".
I know you said airport signage was your inspiration, but I'm actually not seeing that much in the design. For example, I never see a sign at the airport with a zillion little jet planes pointing in different directions. OK, that's very literal, but why not go for elegant and simple? THAT'S what airport signage is to me - quick and to the point.
Imagine if you will a back that more closely resembles an airport map of a fictional airport you create. Simple, stripped-down representations of the buildings, the runways, parking lots, etc. Terminals marked "A", "B", "C", etc. It's easy enough to make radial symmetry out of such a design. A simple repeating pattern like this just seems a little too bland.
Also, I know you want traditional courts, and that's great. But perhaps you can jazz them up just a little. Maybe color their clothes to match the uniform colors of a specific airline. If you wanted to get a little fancier, replace the traditional court clothes with uniforms and crowns with pilot hats. But do SOMETHING, even if it's just using a darker (or brighter) shade of red on the red pips, to make the deck stand out just a little bit from the pack of Bicycles on the rack by the register selling for $3 each.
And that ace... It looks like it has a belly, the way you put the print inside of it. Think "flying ace" and see what you can come up with.
Those are my opinions, for what they're worth to you. I do consulting for deck designers on the side.