My reputation may take a hit for taking an unpopular stance on this debate, as is evident by Tomas' rating - but I can't just let it pass. Tomas opened the topic excited about his new design, based around a culture that he is extremely interested and knowledgable about, and was subjected to the third degree for several perceived microscopic discrepancies. I really don't think that was fair honestly. I think Don is an extremely intelligent guy, and I think Tomas is very knowledgable about this particular culture I really know nothing about. He's no more or less sensitive than anyone else would be about their politics, religion, culture, ethnics, etc. if they perceived to be insulted about them. I re-read the entire thread, and things really went south when Don replied "Kid, you've got a pretty good patter, but I've got fresh batteries in my BS detector and the needle's in the red."

I think Don, given his legendary status on this forum, and in card collecting in general, enjoys a certain level of insulation and protection from criticism or debate. Tomas, a fairly new member, is going to immediately be targeted for challenging Don in any way, even if Don instigates the friction - and I'm not saying he did. This is just an observation. I do think Tomas has been unfairly criticized, and his reputation has taken a disproportionate hit for merely defending a position really important to him, and I don't really see evidence of him being truly out of line. I know Don is popular, and I think that tips the scales. If the exact same debate were waged word for word on this forum, but the players were myself and Tomas instead of Don and Tomas, the outcome would be vastly different, and the support from the rest of the community for one side or the other would probably be more equitably distributed.

And contrary to conventional wisdom, reputation IS important within this community. Although it has no functional use other than with a reputation of 1 someone can post in the STISO forum; reputation is the first look community members get at an unknown or new member. Someone with a reputation deep in the negative is immediately branded as a troublemaker or some other such label. Don's reputation is through the roof, and thus he is correctly viewed as a board legend.

Although it may appear otherwise, I'm really not taking "sides" as it were. I think everyone needs to just drop it and move on. But I call it as I see it, and I do think Tomas has been treated disproportionately. And I have grown to really enjoy and respect Don on these forums. His insight and expertise has been priceless to a new collector like myself. I look forward to his every response on these forums, as I always come away learning something new.

My position on this matter may be an unpopular one, and if you feel the need to ding my reputation for saying so, feel free. I needed to say it, and now that I have, I'm over it. Thank you for reading this.

I liked where this was headed - any updates? The courts emerging from the sides instead of from the center out is one of the most refreshing things I've seen in card design in quite some time.

I'm a minimalism fan as well, and a designer. Designing in true minimalism is almost more difficult than complex designs, because every little nuance declares itself extremely loudly. You have to strike a fine balance, which I'm still learning myself in a lot of ways. My first reaction to the back design is that your art is too complex to be situated in such a minimalist environment. Madison Rounders is a deck generally considered a masterpiece in minimalism. The back is a very simple concept - an "M" with a couple of flourishes around it. It's a minimal construct in a minimal environment. And it works. You may disagree - just some food for thought.

If the "2015 the year of the ram" image is the back design, I'll agree with Fes. While I like the courts, pips, and indices - that back design sinks the ship for me - if that is the back design. Could you clarify for us?

I like them. The faces are very unique and creative. 

Not that I'm accusing you of this, but just a small piece of advice. Don't collect decks because they are "must collect" decks. I hate to see this hobby of ours become another fly by night fad chasing exercise. Collect decks that mean something to you personally. My deck list is probably a lot different than the others because I tend to prefer USPC designed decks - old and new. The KS craze I mostly stay away from - maybe to my own chagrin, but it doesn't really excite me as much as other people. However, if I back a deck, it's simply because I truly like the deck, and not because it's the new hot deck everyone is backing. I like Daniel Madison's stuff, because his design style really speaks to me as a designer. I don't care for the Jackson Robinson stuff as much, although he is one hell of an incredible designer don't get me wrong - it's just a style preference.

Club 808 is releasing the Norwood uncut sheets soon, and since I won the last contest, they sent me two sheets today. Pretty cool piece of USPC history. It's designed to never be cut into a deck, but displayed as a poster. It's a collage of scenes and locations from their Norwood plant before the move to Kentucky. The Bicycle AoS says "The End" where it normally has the date code. Here's a partial image of the sheet: http://www.bicyclecards.com/808/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Contest2.jpg

Im a guy who, when i first saw the madison rounders design, it really turned my crank. So i guess minimalism is my thing. I love using negative space if done correctly, which the jury is still out on concerning this design. I like the flow, but i think i agree with earlier comments that the elements compete for attention.

Thats the one kd. In doing some research, this deck routinely shows up in collectors top 5 or 10 want list for some reason. Ive seen it listed more than a few times next to brown wynns and jnuggs, 1st ed ghosts, etc. So if theyre easy to come by, theres apparently a perception that theyre not. The difference i guess is that they dont have the notoriety of those other decks, so the demand is smaller; which drives down the value obviously. At any rate, they were on my want list as well, and now i can cross them off. A small victory is still a victory!

Hey guys, i just purchased for what i think was a good price the deck mentioned in the title. I think it was Asad from 52 kards that said it was his favorite deck. USPC apparently was experimenting with their new block logo and did a very limited run of these cards. A few ended up in the gift shop in cincinnati, and the rest were destroyed from what i hear. What do you know about these, and how much do you think theyre worth? Thanks!

As I have stated before, I am a veteran designer, but a playing card newbie. This is my first attempt at a back design. Would appreciate any feedback - thanks!

OK - I'll give it a shot...

For your back design, as I look at it, the first thing I think is lose the blue geometry around the red center design. I don't know if you should just go with what you have as the red right now, or if you should work up something new in place of the blue. I think the blue shapes take away from it and make it too chaotic. Your red design is pretty cool though. Possibly something with arcs and smooth geometry to break up the angled, chiseled, hard edges - can't really say without seeing it. For your courts, were you going for Harry Potter? If not, they need an overhaul. If so, I still think they need work. This is where you really need to study what's out there for really well designed custom courts. Here's a hint - the faces are always mysterious. Never give too much away. Also, Don is right, the proportion of the heads to the body is out of whack. And the hairstyles just don't do it for me. I would also advise using more muted tones in your color palette - the super bright reds and blues are way too much.

As far as software, Illustrator is the way to go, because vector paths are much smoother and precise than raster graphics. Plus, they can be resized ad infinitum without losing any quality. Photoshop is then used after your design is complete to add texture, filters, complex gradients, custom brushing, etc. Everything done in Illustrator can be redone, resized, and reconfigured easily without sacrificing anything - Photoshop, you're pretty much stuck with - short of hitting the "undo" command 100 times to get back where you were.

Basically I would agree with Don for step one: go out there and check out every good custom deck you can find. Study it. Look at the artwork. Look at the colors. Check out super successful projects on KS; and compare to the unfunded duds. I do this regularly - and can see a real defined difference between the two. Your graphic design skills for 15 years old are impressive. Study the craft, absorb everything you can. Emulate the good; purge the bad. One of the greatest graphic artists of all time, Paul Rand said "Don't try to be original, just try to be good".

Good luck.