For those who aren't apart of the bicycle club 808, the following is a short guide to cards on kickstarter. The post is taken from the club 808 page.
I hope those who are new to kickstarter (and maybe those who aren't) will follow this guide. With so many deck ideas and designs coming out on kickstarter, this gives you a good idea of what to look out for.
Hope this helps
"For the uninitiated, Kickstarter.com is a crowdfunding website. It lets users post their (unfinished or undistributed) creative projects—a nifty book, a new game, handmade items they’d like to make en masse—and encourage you, the viewer, to help donate to the cost of the project. If enough people pledge to “fund” the project, the cash is delivered to the user to fund whatever he or she needs to get their product out there.
Playing card projects on Kickstarter are a dime a dozen. Seriously, check out how many designs are out there. They go on for pages, covering everything from wizards to pirates to jaw-droppingly gorgeous abstract designs.
No doubt you’ll want to rush to help fund all of them—but how do you know which projects have it together, and which ones don’t? Which ones are professional quality, and which ones have designers who need more experience?
We’ve got you covered. Here’s what to look for.
A generous sampling of designs. If you find a playing card project that shows off a generous sampling of what the printed cards will look like, it’s a great sign. We’ve seen projects that show only a few court card designs without a back or tuck design, which indicates that the designer isn’t very far along and may not even have a solidified concept. If we’re thinking about putting money toward a deck, we want to see proof that the designer knows what he or she is doing. Varied examples of the cards—say, four or more—shows that the concept is far along.
A generous sampling of good designs. And we don’t just mean artistic talent. Is the card back symmetrical—or close enough? Is the Suicide King on the correct card? Do the pips, numbers, and court card letters all line up from card to card? Does the tuck reference the rest of the design in a creative way? Look for designers who pay attention to these simple but important details.
Legit websites. Designers want to entice viewers to fund their project, so their project pages on Kickstarter are visually enticing and endlessly thoughtful. If they’re the real deal, their website will echo a similar level of care and detail, so check out the project website. Can you tell this isn’t the designer’s first rodeo? If it is their first rodeo (that is, first time trying playing card design), do they have past experience as designers or illustrators?
They set the right price. Ever seen a Kickstarter deck ask for $25 grand? If you have, it’s either a well-established, well-recognized design company with a history of amazing decks and Kickstarter rewards, or this person has no idea what he or she is doing. If designers get their decks printed through the US Playing Card Company and have promised some nifty awards, most projects will ask for around $10,000, plus or minus a few thousand. Maybe you’ll see a $15,000 project if it’s an extremely well-designed, premium-quality deck. Too high a price runs the risk of not reading the funding goal.
They know the language. Check out the part where designers talk about how they’re getting their cards printed. Do they mention an air-cushion finish? What kind of stock they’re using? What manufacturer is printing the cards, whether it’s Bicycle or someone else? Do they even mention these things at all? They’re important details, so be sure to look for them."
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