Colour Blind Playing Cards now live on Kickstarter

[badpete69]

Not too impressive in my opinion

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/70156152/colourblind-playing-cards

[Barry Hurton]

Oh I can't tell if I like it or not!

[John B.]

I like the backs but hate the fronts.

[John Spade]

Wow, I actually love this... I'm a huge fan of minimalism, and this is about as minimalistic as it gets. I love the faces, the with the back design is cool but the design itself looks a bit strange. I wouldn't have made it one way. I'm still impressed tho, very unique deck!

[Curt]

I like the backs but hate the fronts.

I agree. I do like the white backs, not bad for a minimalist deck. But those faces are too abstract for my liking

[Nurul]

I don't get it, what's the courts and AoS have anything to do with the colourblind theme?

[Rob Wright]

Love the fan- Hate the courts

[Don Boyer]

I don't get it, what's the courts and AoS have anything to do with the colourblind theme?

He mentioned that he is inspired by Russian propaganda posters from the Cold War era.  Personally, I wouldn't call this deck faithful to that inspiration.

I also don't like that we're not seeing any red cards.  Assuming he is making them red and not keeping the whole deck colorblind...

Even the name "colorblind" isn't in keeping with the imagery on the cards.  Think about it - he's depicting opposite sides of the Cold War, but is he depicting them as being the same color?  When do any opposing armies, teams, etc. use exactly the same colors?

Nope, I'm not sold on this deck at all.

[MagikFingerz]

No mention of printer anywhere. Project creator consists of three names, no facebook connected.

Red flags ahoy!

[52plusjoker]

Quite spectacular that back. If I could fan a deck properly I'd want one!

[MagikFingerz]

Quite spectacular that back. If I could fan a deck properly I'd want one!

Interesting. I myself think it's quite boring since you can get the same fans by using any regular white or black deck by simply making reverse fans, or right hand fans. This is sometimes used by magicians to create blank fans (top card needs to be concealable like the AoD or a blank gaff) and snap their fingers before revealing all the pips being "back" in a regular fan.

Granted, you won't get the black/white edge on the fan that these have, but for me colors and patterns trump black and white any day.

I do recommend trying to learn fanning though, it makes you able to appreciate playing card design in a very unique way 

[GBAllison]

I also don't like that we're not seeing any red cards.  Assuming he is making them red and not keeping the whole deck colorblind...

There is one picture of a "red" card (see below for the image) ... it's the suicide king committing suicide.  But it's clear to me that the whole point of this deck is that the reds are *not* red.  The whole deck is white-and-black.  There is no red anywhere.

For me, that's a complete showstopper.  My bridge players have instructed me ... no more decks that we can't play with.

Personally, I *love* everything else about this deck.  So amazing ... so well-thought out ... and yet so frustrating, it is *killing* me not to pledge for this deck.  The two-sided fans are gorgeous.  I love the custom pips.  The themes are completely fun.  And I love, love, love the Literal Aces.  But apparently, true monochrome is the whole *point* to this deck. (Arrgh!) This is *so* easy to imagine as an amazing TWO deck set!  The backs of one deck are white-and-black (as is), and the other deck's back is white-and-red (yet ANOTHER amazing fan). And both decks have the same faces: with spades and clubs white-and-black and hearts and diamonds white-and-red.  This is one of the most inventive and well-thought-out minimalist decks I've seen ... but for me ... it's a very VERY sad pass.

P.S. I *love* the suicide king:

[Casual Pixels]

To me, I put this into what I think of as a "Design" category of deck.

There have always been examples of these decks appearing, but recently I get the impression there are quite a few more. The reasons are not hard to imagine. A few huge KS projects and a zillion people who think "I could do that". And, from an isolated design perspective, they can.

It often IS good design. However, it's not always good playing card design. There's a crucial difference.

There are tons of examples of decks which are neither, a gratifying number which are both, but there are no small number of examples which are one but not the other.

Anyway, to me, this one falls into that "well, nice enough, but not my cup of tea" category.

[10ofclubs]

The fan is kind if cool, but if you get the cards inverted, it would absolutely ruin it.

[MagikFingerz]

To me, I put this into what I think of as a "Design" category of deck.

There have always been examples of these decks appearing, but recently I get the impression there are quite a few more. The reasons are not hard to imagine. A few huge KS projects and a zillion people who think "I could do that". And, from an isolated design perspective, they can.

It often IS good design. However, it's not always good playing card design. There's a crucial difference.

There are tons of examples of decks which are neither, a gratifying number which are both, but there are no small number of examples which are one but not the other.

Anyway, to me, this one falls into that "well, nice enough, but not my cup of tea" category.

I agree with this a lot, particularly the highlighted part. It is what separates a good designer from a good playing card designer. This deck falls into a grey area where traditional playing card design is sacrificed for whatever clever idea the designer has, and the more/bigger elements that are missing the more clever the idea has to be to make up for it.

[Overstock Cards]

Hi everybody,

I'm the creator of this deck, and I totally understand what a lot of you are saying. This deck isn't for everybody. While I do want the niche community of cardists and card enthusiasts in general to accept the deck, I will acknowledge that they are more design than function. Whether or not they work as playing cards is yet to be seen. I believe that they will, but I can see how some would not, such as the bridge player above. To those who loved the design: you are awesome. To those who didn't: hey, whatever, I guess it's not your thing. But if any of you have good constructive criticism for me, I would really appreciate it. Honestly, the fact that people are taking the time to say how much they DON'T like the deck is a little flattering.

Thanks,

Mercer

[Ben Taylor]

Changing the hearts and diamonds to outlines with white centers would make them usable, while staying black and white.

Colorblind people don't see in black and white btw.

[Overstock Cards]

Yeah, I know that colourblind people don't see in black and white. My dad is red/green (he also helped me colour edit stuff, which is weird…). I think that the black outline idea is actually pretty solid. I will do a draft of them, and see how they look. If enough people think it's a good idea, I'll be sure to implement it. Thanks for the advice.

[Don Boyer]

Yeah, I know that colourblind people don't see in black and white. My dad is red/green (he also helped me colour edit stuff, which is weird…). I think that the black outline idea is actually pretty solid. I will do a draft of them, and see how they look. If enough people think it's a good idea, I'll be sure to implement it. Thanks for the advice.

If you'd like any more tips, just ask.  I do consulting work for card designers.

BTW: welcome to the Discourse!  You should make an "Introduce Yourself" topic and let us get to know you a little better.

[BiggerDee]

The dual fan ability is really cool, and a great feature. I actually like these.

[Loop Cuts]

I like the fanning concept for the back design but the faces need more development.  I've seen a lot of minimalistic concepts with potential, fall flat due to a lack of time for the concept to develop to its fullest potential. 

[Lukeout]

It often IS good design. However, it's not always good playing card design.

I agree here. If you're going to go with a deck that it sparse (as opposed to detailed illustrations), the theme should come through AND it should be playable. I enjoy thematic decks and illustrated ones, but my thematic decks are all very usable.

I am not a fan of the title either. When I saw the title of the deck, I was expecting to see a clever deck designed for color blind people, but the deck was Soviet WWII propaganda based. I think the deck needs a name that more clearly describes it's design aesthetic.

[10ofclubs]

The dual fan ability is really cool, and a great feature. I actually like these.

Except if any of the cards got inverted, it would ruin the fan. I stated this above. Yeah, the fans look neat but it would be a pain in the ass to keep your deck the same direction throughout a game or performance. Not worth it at all.

[chach]

I hate to say it, but this has to be one of the worst designs I've ever seen.  My eyes hurt after seeing the pics, maybe that's what they mean by the name, they'll make you blind after staring at them for long periods of time.   

[Overstock Cards]

The dual fan ability is really cool, and a great feature. I actually like these.

Except if any of the cards got inverted, it would ruin the fan. I stated this above. Yeah, the fans look neat but it would be a pain in the ass to keep your deck the same direction throughout a game or performance. Not worth it at all.

That's fair. Again, I did make these to be more designery than utility. However, I wouldn't really use anything other than a deck of bikes or tallies in a performance anyway.

And to chach, that's just mean, man. You've hurt me deeply 
If you have something constructive to say, though, I'd be happy to hear it. This is my first design, and it's definitely a learning experience.

[BiggerDee]

The dual fan ability is really cool, and a great feature. I actually like these.

Except if any of the cards got inverted, it would ruin the fan. I stated this above. Yeah, the fans look neat but it would be a pain in the ass to keep your deck the same direction throughout a game or performance. Not worth it at all.

Good point, but I still think that the dual fan idea is cool. It may have been done before (I have no idea), but I like it.

[Don Boyer]

The dual fan ability is really cool, and a great feature. I actually like these.

Except if any of the cards got inverted, it would ruin the fan. I stated this above. Yeah, the fans look neat but it would be a pain in the ass to keep your deck the same direction throughout a game or performance. Not worth it at all.

Good point, but I still think that the dual fan idea is cool. It may have been done before (I have no idea), but I like it.

It's been done many times, with decks purpose-built for fanning.  Magic Makers' Bicycle Tetra deck would be one.

[Overstock Cards]

I actually don't generally like fanning decks because their backs are usually kinda boring, but I thought I would try to make mine more interesting to look at. In fact, I don't consider this to be a fanning deck at all. It's merely a fun-filled feature (Alliteration for the win)
Also, I think that the way it fans, with the rings, is a new concept. I could, of course, be wrong, but I still think the fans turned out well. Probably one of the strongest points of the deck.
Thanks for the input.

[Don Boyer]

I actually don't generally like fanning decks because their backs are usually kinda boring, but I thought I would try to make mine more interesting to look at. In fact, I don't consider this to be a fanning deck at all. It's merely a fun-filled feature (Alliteration for the win)
Also, I think that the way it fans, with the rings, is a new concept. I could, of course, be wrong, but I still think the fans turned out well. Probably one of the strongest points of the deck.
Thanks for the input.

Then you've been looking at the wrong decks.  There's one out there that, when properly fanned out, creates the image of a dragon stretched out across several cards.  Fanning decks don't necessarily have to be boring to be effective - the opposite is true more often than not.

[Overstock Cards]

Yeah, I've seen that deck. I meant that the backs weren't that interesting alone.

[Don Boyer]

Yeah, I've seen that deck. I meant that the backs weren't that interesting alone.

Look up the Virtuoso deck.  It was created by a team of cardists called the Virts.  The back is minimal but quite eye catching and the deck makes for some very nice fans.  The faces are none too shabby, either!

De'vo of handlordz.com has put out some decks with a lot of back design appeal to flourishers, except that he disdains the term and refers to the art as "XCM" - eXtreme Card Manipulation.

[Overstock Cards]

The virts deck is my favourite deck ever. I don't consider it a fanning deck though. And I hunk de'vo's stuff is gaudy. I also hate the term XCM. It seems like he's trying way too hard to sound cool. Cardistry is a lot more subtle.

[sprouts1115]

??

[MagikFingerz]

The virts deck is my favourite deck ever. I don't consider it a fanning deck though. And I hunk de'vo's stuff is gaudy. I also hate the term XCM. It seems like he's trying way too hard to sound cool. Cardistry is a lot more subtle.

De'vo/Handlordz was where I started out my card collecting/flourishing journey, so he will always have a place in my heart. But he has proven himself a d-bag more times than not (particularly in terms of copyrighting flourishes and policing his own forums), and his persona and vibe does appeal more to naive teenagers (which I was myself at the time). Still, his products are solid; his dvds are nothing short of amazing and all of his decks (art aside) have at least all been quality products. Though he wouldn't have been half as successful without Jerry "The Flourishman" Cestkowski on his team.

PS. Yes, the spelling of my username is indeed inspired by the XCM-era.

[Overstock Cards]

Yeah, I started Cardistry long after the era of De'vo's was over, so I can look at him with an impartial eye. His DVDs have good flourishes on them (a little too flashy, but still), but the art direction and graphics are unwatchable. His decks aren't bad.

[RandyButterfield]

Here's my favorite flourishing Deck!

All kidding aside. I think any design that solely concentrates on flourishing is definitely lacking in other areas.

Thanks, Randy

[MagikFingerz]

Hehe, Randy. That's one of my favorites as well 

You're right, of course, but on the other hand I doubt any deck could cover all "areas" particularly well.

[Don Boyer]

The virts deck is my favourite deck ever. I don't consider it a fanning deck though. And I hunk de'vo's stuff is gaudy. I also hate the term XCM. It seems like he's trying way too hard to sound cool. Cardistry is a lot more subtle.

Well, it IS a fanning deck - but not exclusively a fanning deck.  Few decks are made JUST for fanning, but many decks have elements to them that allow for visuals in fanning not normally achievable with a standard pack of whatever's on the drugstore shelves.

[MagikFingerz]

The virts deck is my favourite deck ever. I don't consider it a fanning deck though. And I hunk de'vo's stuff is gaudy. I also hate the term XCM. It seems like he's trying way too hard to sound cool. Cardistry is a lot more subtle.

Well, it IS a fanning deck - but not exclusively a fanning deck.  Few decks are made JUST for fanning, but many decks have elements to them that allow for visuals in fanning not normally achievable with a standard pack of whatever's on the drugstore shelves.

It is indeed not exclusively a fanning deck, but it does a pretty damn good job as one.

[Don Boyer]

It is indeed not exclusively a fanning deck, but it does a pretty damn good job as one.

Niiiiiice!!  You doin' the fannin'?

[CrankUP]

I hate to say it, but this has to be one of the worst designs I've ever seen.  My eyes hurt after seeing the pics, maybe that's what they mean by the name, they'll make you blind after staring at them for long periods of time.   

I giggled.

I like the design though. I'm not fond of one way backs, but these would be KILLER in a fanning routine.

[MagikFingerz]

It is indeed not exclusively a fanning deck, but it does a pretty damn good job as one.

Niiiiiice!!  You doin' the fannin'?

Not my work, I'm afraid. I'm currently away from my collection, but I'll post some old pictures of fans of my own in an intro thread (which is overdue).

[Overstock Cards]

Love the virts decks SOO much. And thanks, CrankUP!