Negative Space Playing Cards

[Gina]

Hello all!

I've designed a deck based on the negative space created between the card suits and the number/letters of the cards.
I'm really keen to get them printed and sold but it's early days yet so I'm looking for some feedback first and to gauge interest. I haven't fully decided what route I want to take in terms of production or shopped around for quotes yet, but from the research I've done I'm thinking the tried and tested kickstarter+EPCC combo might be the best bet. I have had a read of the PCF deck design competition which sounds interesting but I'm not sure yet if I'll enter.

Attached are the cards themselves and the tuck box interior. I haven't decided on the joker designs or on the design of the tuck box exterior yet so hopefully soon I'll update with those finalised.

But for now I was hoping you lovely people could let me know what you think! Below I've just listed some small concerns I've had about the designs, it'd be great to get some opinions.

- I think the backs design might be too boring/plain?

- Does the index font look alright or should I use the traditional block serif? I've used Arial narrow to keep them small while still matching the letterforms in the middle which I chose Arial black for because I preferred the shapes of the numbers

- I haven't decided on a name for the deck yet, some that I'm considering:
 . Negative54
 . Minus54
 . Negative Space
 . Less Than Zero
 . Negative Percentage
 . White Space
It's basically between the top two I think; at the moment i'm leaning towards Minus54 so then the strapline can be 'negative space playing cards' without repeating 'negative' more than once.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Gina
www.gina-taylor.com

[Don Boyer]

Greetings, Gina, and welcome to PCF!

Please do NOT take this personally, but I've seen so many typographic decks like this, I long ago grew tired of them.  The design is boring to me - but that's just me, and I'm a fusspot when it comes to adding cards to my collection in the first place.

For those who enjoy typographic decks, this actually is a unique take on the concept.  It's absolutely worthy of entering in the contest - especially since entry is FREE and taken at no risk to you, other than the risk of winning and having the deck created...

[HankMan]

To me this design is rather hard to see in a glimpse.. Without looking at the index I have to have a close look to find the value of the card. Especially "J" not sure which way I have to look at it

[Gina]

Hi guys, thanks for taking the time to comment.

Don, I completely understand why typographic design can be boring to some people so no offence taken - I'm grateful for your honesty! Out of interest, would your stance on a calligraphy based deck be similar? It's unlikely I'll have anything post-able any time soon but it's something I've been playing around with.

Hank, I agree that the designs are difficult to identify at a glance but that was kind of my intention. I like the idea that from a distance they're almost motif-based or abstract, but upon closer inspection have meaning - kind of like cloud watching. I've actually had a couple of people tell me the more complex cards such as the Jack of Spades or Jack of Clubs are their favourites so it's interesting and useful to hear you're not so keen. I did about twenty variations for each card so I'll go back and have a look at some of the alternatives for those two in particular and see if they're any better.
Do you think the the fact that they're not immediately readable would be a turnoff for a lot of collectors?

Also, in case anyone's interested, I've attached the original deck that I designed before deciding I wanted a less minimal and more patterned look. There's a vertically symmetrical version of it somewhere too but I can't seem to find it at the moment.

[Don Boyer]

Do you think the the fact that they're not immediately readable would be a turnoff for a lot of collectors?

It's a turnoff for people who use cards, period.  It hinders the functionality of the deck, making it less like a deck and more like a hassle to use.  Making something artistic simply for the sake of it being artistic doesn't always work out, like putting square tires on a car because they look more Cubist...

This earlier design you just showed is a lot more readable - though it's also more boring, at least to me; nearly all the cards are the same, except for a single character.

As far as a calligraphic deck, I dunno - I guess I'd have to see it.

[Gina]

Hmm, okay, perhaps I'll reconsider a large scale production and instead just get a few printed for myself and for friends.

Appreciate the feedback!

[WoPC]

Gina Hi,

I agree with Don Boyer, the original first draft concept you posted is a lot more understandable and readable. With your latest version I needed 1-2 seconds to figure out which card I was looking at; if I were playing a card game this extra cognitive and thinking wouldn't be ideal, and I'd probably not want to use this deck often.

At most for me this deck would become a novelty and not something I'd want to show off in my collection or use in games or magic tricks.

However, I am a huge typography fan, and the world can always do with one more excellent typography deck, this design has a lot of potential, but I personally think it needs one or two more rounds of revisions.

I hope this helps