New Concept - What Do You Guys Think?

[publius]

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!

[Fess]

I don't really have an understanding of what's going on here. The pin striping, center element, and the flora kind of clash for me. The flora and pin striping are both delicate looking, still they feel disconnected. Maybe that's what you're going for though because another disconnect happens with the element in the center. Feels like you're trying a lot of different things to see how they work, rather than making a whole. They all fight for my attention rather than compliment one another.

Maybe enlarge the center element by another third? Using thicker lines on the pin striping near the center element and thinning out to the delicate look may give a nice effect. Also on your center element it will be difficult to print the very center of it, if you plan on using USPCC, they'll most likely ask that to be reworked a bit so it doesn't accidentally become  hit and miss in printing.

I really like your flora a lot. 

[publius]

You're right, this was the result of a couple of ideas combined into one. I was working on them separately, and then decided to see if I could combine them. Maybe it doesn't work. And you're definitely right about the center of the center circle getting lost if it were to go to press. Elements that merge together into infinity never print well because color separation can only be maintained down to a certain level. I knew that and did it anyway for some reason...

Thanks for the input.

[Don Boyer]

Unusual color scheme.  Perhaps a darker brown and a lighter/brighter orange?

[publius]

I wanted to go unconventional with the colors, and the rgb on the computer screen doesnt translate well the cmyk that it was designed in. But you may be right. Thanks

[Don Boyer]

I wanted to go unconventional with the colors, and the rgb on the computer screen doesnt translate well the cmyk that it was designed in. But you may be right. Thanks

It is reminiscent of some vintage and antique deck backs, in terms of the color scheme.

RGB and CMYK certainly do not play well with each other... 

[sprouts1115]

This back is too safe.  What do you really have cooking?  Or is Black negative space your theme?

[publius]

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.

[Don Boyer]

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.

There's been so much minimalism lately, it's falling into the same category as Cthulhu, zombies, pirates, steampunk, etc. - overused and tired.  When Ellusionist is doing it, that's a sure sign that the trend has expired!  (No offense to the guys at E, especially since I'm a fan of the Republic No. 02 deck, but they're going a bit more mainstream than a lot of the successful KS designs that have come out.)

It looked to me like you were going more for a classic design, something off of a vintage deck or at least meant to look so.  Why not explore some of the ideas from vintage card backs and see where it takes you.

You can find some really good images of vintage Bicycle backs at Jim Knapp's site as well as from the other old-school USPC brands.

[Fess]

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.

There's been so much minimalism lately, it's falling into the same category as Cthulhu, zombies, pirates, steampunk, etc. - overused and tired.  When Ellusionist is doing it, that's a sure sign that the trend has expired!  (No offense to the guys at E, especially since I'm a fan of the Republic No. 02 deck, but they're going a bit more mainstream than a lot of the successful KS designs that have come out.)

It looked to me like you were going more for a classic design, something off of a vintage deck or at least meant to look so.  Why not explore some of the ideas from vintage card backs and see where it takes you.

You can find some really good images of vintage Bicycle backs at Jim Knapp's site as well as from the other old-school USPC brands.

I disagree about minimalism being tired and overused, that's entirely subjective as personal taste. There's always room for more of anything, if it's done well and as we've all been shown before even if it's not haha. If minimalism is your thing, that's great. To me this isn't minimalism either though. It's a mash of things that aren't working well together. While each different aspect is nice looking on their own, if you're going for minimalism, pick one and see what you can do with it. Play with it and feel it out. You may have something really cool at the end. I think it will be interesting to see where you go from here. 

I also think it's great the Madison Rounders inspired you. I like the Madison rounders decks as well but only two of them, white and browns. (kind of strange since I'm usually a sucker for red backs) I think the Madison design is really well done, and love the hustlers.

[Don Boyer]

Well, even with a tired concept that's been overused, one can still make a deck of the same theme - it simply has to be a superior example in order to stand out above what came before.  That's a difficult trick to pull off in the case of minimalism, as there's been a number of fine examples of it recently.