Egyptian Revival Art Deco deck

[Shane Sanders]

Hello!

I've been exploring ideas these past two days for an Egyptian Revival art deco styled deck. This will be the first deck I've designed. So far I have the basic composition for the back of the cards but am not ready to show any of the other elements at the moment. Lots to learn!

[Don Boyer]

Hello!

I've been exploring ideas these past two days for an Egyptian Revival art deco styled deck. This will be the first deck I've designed. So far I have the basic composition for the back of the cards but am not ready to show any of the other elements at the moment. Lots to learn!

If you plan to print these back designs without a border around them, be prepared for a few possible issues.

1) If you print with USPC, they're known for trying but not always succeeding to make perfectly centered die cuts when punching out their cards.  If either design wasn't cut totally centered, there's a good chance you'd end up with a one-way back.  A white border can hide this to some extent.  Alternately, you can add a border in a color that you choose as your "background" color - you'll have to deal with a different issue (see #2, below) but it's less likely to appear one-way to the naked eye and still look attractive like a print-to-the-bleed card.

2) If you are indeed going to print into the bleed, the cards will look really good when they come out of the box.  Over a short amount of time and some usage, however, the ink will chip, exposing the white paper beneath and make the card edges look shabby.  This happens to white-bordered decks as well, but because the paper is also white, it tends to be less noticeable without a close examination, closer than most people bother with.  It's unavoidable, but some artists/designers say "damn the torpedoes" and do it anyway because it really does look cool straight out of the box.  You have to decide if you're one of them!

I do like that they aren't typical designs.  Sometimes it seems like there's only a few basic patterns out there and that nearly all card backs are designed based on these basic patterns, like the circles and border of the Bicycle Rider Back or the quadrant pattern of the Tally Ho Original Fan Back, etc.  Yours is more unique, and in a good way.  There is a basic single-circle radial center pattern to it, but there's so much more going on in there - it makes the design more appealing.

[Shane Sanders]

Thank you for the great advice and kind words. Since I'm so early in this process, I'll be able to address all those issues you mentioned without any trouble at all. I think I need to continue to brainstorm and research while experimenting. I think I can take this kind of geometric design up a notch if I don't rush it.

Does anyone have an idea of what percentage of attempted Kickstarter campaigns are successful? I'm doing this for fun and to expand my design portfolio, but it would be cool to not only succeed in getting a nicely printed deck but to also profit a little bit. I noticed that some well designed decks failed to get funding. Do you think there's a common thread in the failures? Something to avoid? Thank you!

[Shane Sanders]

Here's an update that takes into account the need for a white safe area, etc...

[Don Boyer]

Thank you for the great advice and kind words. Since I'm so early in this process, I'll be able to address all those issues you mentioned without any trouble at all. I think I need to continue to brainstorm and research while experimenting. I think I can take this kind of geometric design up a notch if I don't rush it.

Does anyone have an idea of what percentage of attempted Kickstarter campaigns are successful? I'm doing this for fun and to expand my design portfolio, but it would be cool to not only succeed in getting a nicely printed deck but to also profit a little bit. I noticed that some well designed decks failed to get funding. Do you think there's a common thread in the failures? Something to avoid? Thank you!

Of 381 total playing card projects last year, 49% were successful.  The backer pledge average was $43.49, the average project goal was approximately $9,800 and ran for 29 days.  This counts projects where a deck was the project's primary goal, not projects where a deck was offered as an ancillary item and some other thing, event, etc. was the primary goal - for example, the project to make the documentary "An Honest Liar" offered a custom deck as a reward, but the deck wasn't the project's goal - the movie was.

There's no one common thread for all unsuccessful projects.  It could simply be a case of the market not wanting what was offered - no target audience.  The creator could have chosen a tired, worn-out theme that's been overdone.  Maybe the creator didn't promote the project very well, or maybe the design had serious flaws to it.  Maybe the timing was poor - pushing a project in January can backfire as a lot of people are still dealing with credit card bills from the October-through-December holidays, just as pushing a project in early-mid August has issues because a lot of people go on vacation and fewer of them are staring at computer screens shopping for playing cards, or perhaps they were pushing a holiday-themed deck that was offered nowhere near the time of the holiday (for example, selling a Halloween deck or a Christmas deck in September or October is a natural, but selling it in February or March is a bit odd).  Maybe the printer was a total unknown, or one known for poor quality work.  Maybe the creator had one or more other recently completed successful projects but hasn't yet delivered, meaning there's no track record of successful fulfillment of pledges to lean on as a promotional tool.  Maybe people thought the project was a scam, or it was presented by someone who's failed to deliver in the past.  Maybe the creator had a history of fulfilling projects, but they used a fulfillment service that damaged too many decks in transit by poor handling and packing and planned to use the same service for the new project.

Lots of possible reasons - and I haven't even covered them all.

[Shane Sanders]

Thank you, Don! Lots to think about. 

[NineLives]

Of your three backs, I like the third one the best... and I do like the colours
Looking forward to seeing more

[Don Boyer]

Thank you, Don! Lots to think about. 

In general, you want to have a product that people are interested in, and you want to keep connected to backers and the world in general with updates without being overbearing about it - once or twice a week is awesome, while daily can get tedious and hourly is downright obnoxious.  Keep in touch with people on the forums, talk up the deck and be a part of the community - people around here who are active members and deck designers tend to engender more fan interest because those fans feel a connection to them, like they're friends with you.  In a way, they are.  You care more about a friend's project, plain and simple.

Make a spreadsheet and account for every possible expense you could have, right down to the packing tape for the boxes.  Make a proper budget and from there, a schedule.  Adhere to that schedule as closely as possible, as if your project's life depends on it - because it does.  People will understand if you're a little late for reasons beyond your control, but that goodwill will only go so far, and it's better not to test it in the first place - just be on time.

Talk to potential printers in advance, choose one and settle on that printer - switching printers mid-project, even if it's an upgrade, can throw your budget and schedule out of whack.  If you want a good-quality deck, start with a good quality printer instead of offering to switch if a stretch goal is met - your backers might prefer the first printer over the second (not likely, but not impossible) and at the very least, there's a certain sense of "bait and switch" to making such a major change partway through a project, even if the switch was planned from the start.