Binary Deck - Early Development

[Lukeout]

Hey folks, I thought I'd share some early work on our next deck. Like the Meeple Deck, this is a mash-up of something we love and playing cards - this time to technology. Like the Meeple Deck, it's going to be pretty far outside the norm of collector decks. Much more of a concept/execution deck than a detailed/art deck. Our hope is to launch this deck in 4 months or so.

For those who don't know, binary is the language of computers - it's only 0's and 1's. It is also called "Base 2." That means that the "3 of hearts" is really the "11 of hearts". And when you get to letters, things go a little off the rails, as letters have 8-digits! Yea, I know it's geeky, but I'm a guy who wears that label proudly!

For a look, we wanted to go with something super clean - sort of like the more modern cel-phone design interfaces. We still have a lot of work to do on the royals (and probably the Aces...) to get them to fit into the theme, but here is some of our early cards. Would love some feedback! (which I expect to be highly polarized..)

Thanks!

[10ofclubs]

Would be very difficult to play games or do magic with. Not seeing the target market here. People who like binary numbers?

[Lukeout]

The target might not exist that's for sure. There are tons of tech geeks in the world, who would find using a deck of cards like this to be amusing as all get out. "Look, I've got a straight -  0010, 0011, 0100, 0101, 0110!" This will require me to point my marketing at totally different audiences (slashdot, think geek, etc...).

I'm not sure Kickstarter reaches that crowd at all, but I'm going to find out! One of the things that I really like about Kickstarter, is although marketing matters, the idea itself usually makes something work or not. I find it a really good place to try very different things.

I will say that one of the best parts about this target audience is that they are very very socially networked and viral, so IF an idea hits their fancy it tends to do really well.

Luke

[Justin O.]

Absolutely love this idea. I am your target market, I do magic, collect cards and love binary geekyness
They say there are 10 kinds of people in the world: Those who get binary, and those who don't.

The solid color block isn't quite working for me, but I am so excited by the concept that it's a non-issue.
If you included the Unicode for each suit scrolling down under the pips that would add so much!!

Edit: added a picture of what I mean by the scrolling text. Similar aesthetically but if the numbers were the Unicode number for the suits I would really geek out for them. I originally thought that's what the text in the image was. Sorely disappointed to find out otherwise.

[Don Boyer]

I'd go for the more classic face appearance.  You don't want to change too many factors at once, and the binary is a very radical factor to add.  You may wish to consider giving the numbers and pips an '80s-retro pixelated look - perhaps even the back design.  Yeah, what ARE you going to do with the back design?  (Just tell me it's NOT going to be the rock-paper-scissors-lizard-Spock chart...)

This deck could be hugely successful.  Very few people in the collector community would be interested, unless of course you put the Bicycle brand name on it.  But you hit the nail on the head about reaching out to the geek/nerd community.  ThinkGeek would be on this like flies on cowpies.  The board/card/dice gamer community also tends to be padded with computer nerds as well, so you should push it there as well.  Many, many people who attend events like ComicCon would snap these up like Red Bulls.

It's clearly a matter of proper marketing.  If you want to make it irresistible, see about getting a product placement on "The Big Bang Theory" and printing up a few sample decks from MakePlayingCards.com.

[Lukeout]

Absolutely love this idea. I am your target market, I do magic, collect cards and love binary geekyness
They say there are 10 kinds of people in the world: Those who get binary, and those who don't.

The solid color block isn't quite working for me, but I am so excited by the concept that it's a non-issue.
If you included the Unicode for each suit scrolling down under the pips that would add so much!!

Edit: added a picture of what I mean by the scrolling text. Similar aesthetically but if the numbers were the Unicode number for the suits I would really geek out for them. I originally thought that's what the text in the image was. Sorely disappointed to find out otherwise.

I like the scrolling unicode for each suit! We are using the unicode "font" for each suit as the pip...

We have a back design now that is essentially a binary code. It's early, but it leads itself to a 2-deck set as one would be the inverse of the other. After the Meeple went 1-back, I'm a little worried about launching a 2-back set again, but it just seems so right to have two "opposite" cards backs in a Binary themed deck... More thinking clearly needed. Here's the current back.

[Don Boyer]

I like the scrolling unicode for each suit! We are using the unicode "font" for each suit as the pip...

We have a back design now that is essentially a binary code. It's early, but it leads itself to a 2-deck set as one would be the inverse of the other. After the Meeple went 1-back, I'm a little worried about launching a 2-back set again, but it just seems so right to have two "opposite" cards backs in a Binary themed deck... More thinking clearly needed. Here's the current back.

While this is a "geek's deck" as opposed to a serious poker player's or magician's deck, I suggest you make the binary board a two-way pattern, the same appearance when rotated 180 degrees.

Have you considered something more quintessentially geek as your card back - like for example, a server rack, or a "two-headed" Mac Classic without the identifying marks?  You could even look at images from older computers - Commodore PET, early minicomputers, etc.  Also one of this classically old-style tape data storage units that look like reel-to-reel recorders?  Visually, it would be umpteen times more interesting than what you have now.  It need not be in color, but the dots are, I'm sorry to say, really boring to look at.

I do, however, love how you managed "two colors" for the decks - black and inverted black!  But in order to help insure the campaign's success, make the second color deck a stretch goal.  This way, you know for certain you'll get out at least one version of the deck.  Do that, show it to companies like ThinkGeek, and you might not need a KS project for another print run in the second color - they may just start throwing money at you, screaming "We want this in our store YESTERDAY!!"

[Justin O.]

I really like the deck backs you have conceptualized, though I would not make the inverse back have a black border, the inverse image is enough, and thin white borders I find to be generally preferable.

And in light of Don's recommendations I would like to plead that you not make this deck 'retro', while Don is an amazing resource for card design and concept, and possesses an astounding, often intimidating, knowledge of playing cards, I personally would really love to see this deck be presented with a modern technology theme. All of our computers still run off of binary logic gating and processing and Unicode is still a huge standard. While a 'retro' makeover might bring in more supporters because it is trendy or novel, that isn't the sense I got from your design and frankly not what I hope to see from it.
Finding a way to take your current back design and make it two way would be really great though, if you can manage it easily or make it work with your design conceptually.

Edited for grammar.

[Don Boyer]

I really like the deck backs you have conceptualized, though I would not make the inverse back have a black border, the inverse image is enough, and thin white borders I find to be generally preferable.

And in light of Don's recommendations I would like to plead that you not make this deck 'retro', while Don is an amazing resource for card design and concept, and possesses an astounding, often intimidating, knowledge of playing cards, I personally would really love to see this deck be presented with a modern technology theme. All of our computers still run off of binary logic gating and processing and Unicode is still a huge standard. While a 'retro' makeover might bring in more supporters because it is trendy or novel, that isn't the sense I got from your design and frankly not what I hope to see from it.
Finding a way to take your current back design and make it two way would be really great though, if you can manage it easily or make it work with your design conceptually.

Edited for grammar.

In that case, perhaps a nice circuit board would look good, or a shiny central processing unit?  It's just that the dots are way too generic.  There's a really, REALLY bad recolorized version of the basic Hoyle deck that uses a similar pattern but in much uglier, more garish colors.  It's not the kind of thing I'd want associated with the deck.

Alternately, go for some real ones and zeroes.  Or better still, the symbols for an open power circuit and a closed one.  That's something any serious computer geek would recognize immediately but a casual card player would think was just a pretty pattern.

From Wikipedia, article on "Power symbol":

(IEC5007 On Symbol.svg, seen below)
IEC 5007, the power on (line) symbol, appearing on a button or one end of a toggle switch indicates that the control places the equipment into a fully powered state. It comes from the binary system (1 or | means on).
(IEC5008 Off Symbol.svg, seen below)
IEC 5008, the power off (circle) symbol on a button or toggle, indicates that using the control will disconnect power to the device. It comes from the binary system (0 means off).

[Justin O.]

With some time in Photoshop you could take the first JPEG (board1 I think) and turn it into a really nice, seamless two way design, a great suggestion don. I love the minimalist design of the current back, but I would trust Don's instincts on the negative association. Working an an I/O image somewhere, or conceptializing a more traditional card back design centered around an I/O could look really nice.

But please run with this idea, I'm very excited about it.

[Lukeout]

Circuit boards is definitely something we might look at for texture, but I want to retain the flat design (that is all the rage in the tech world right now), so we'd have to concept it out.

The card backs actually say "Playing Cards" in binary in case you're curious... 

I really appreciate the feedback folks. Right now our focus is 85% on the Meeple thing and 15% on this, but I find that "slow cooking" stuff tends to work well for us as opposed to rushing to meet deadlines.

[Jamm Pakd Cards]

Absolutely love this idea. I am your target market, I do magic, collect cards and love binary geekyness
They say there are 10 kinds of people in the world: Those who get binary, and those who don't.

The solid color block isn't quite working for me, but I am so excited by the concept that it's a non-issue.
If you included the Unicode for each suit scrolling down under the pips that would add so much!!

Edit: added a picture of what I mean by the scrolling text. Similar aesthetically but if the numbers were the Unicode number for the suits I would really geek out for them. I originally thought that's what the text in the image was. Sorely disappointed to find out otherwise.

I like the scrolling unicode for each suit! We are using the unicode "font" for each suit as the pip...

We have a back design now that is essentially a binary code. It's early, but it leads itself to a 2-deck set as one would be the inverse of the other. After the Meeple went 1-back, I'm a little worried about launching a 2-back set again, but it just seems so right to have two "opposite" cards backs in a Binary themed deck... More thinking clearly needed. Here's the current back.

I like this concept you are going with.  When I read your post about having two decks I was thinking that it would be a cool idea to have one deck only in binary code and the other deck to have the translated version of the binary deck.  Just a brain storming idea.  I also like the suggestion Justin O suggested about having the scrolling idea.

[Justin O.]

You could name one deck the 'True' deck or the 'I' deck and the other the 'False' deck or the 'O' deck..?

[Lukeout]

You could name one deck the 'True' deck or the 'I' deck and the other the 'False' deck or the 'O' deck..?

That cracks me up! Good idea. I like the I/O decks (and they I and O look like 1 and 0).

[Justin O.]

Thinking about running with this idea for 2DDC, not sure if I am ready to commit to the project yet though, thought I might throw up an idea I have been working with at work today

[Mark]

Interesting deck idea, gave me a laugh. For the corner counts maybe go with something more compact. Dots in a 2 by 4 grid, hex values, something else?

[Don Boyer]

Thinking about running with this idea for 2DDC, not sure if I am ready to commit to the project yet though, thought I might throw up an idea I have been working with at work today

Well, there's nothing to "commit" to as far as the contest goes.  You enter and you either win or lose - that's the whole magilla.  No orders to fulfill, just files to send to EPCC for printing, perhaps a phone call or two, and done.  You get maybe six boxes in the mail with your 3 gross of decks, easy peasy.

Consider that the winning deck will be chosen by vote among the members of the forum.  I applaud the idea of creative, unique and original concepts - but to win, you need a concept that will appeal to that audience.  Ask yourself honestly: do you think a binary-style deck will have the necessary broad appeal to sway the voters here enough to make you the winner?  Remember as well - a mere plurality isn't enough; the winner has to win by a clear majority, over 50% of the votes.  If there's no majority win on the first round of voting, the two top vote-getters have a 48-hour run-off election.

[Justin O.]

Thinking about running with this idea for 2DDC, not sure if I am ready to commit to the project yet though, thought I might throw up an idea I have been working with at work today

Well, there's nothing to "commit" to as far as the contest goes.  You enter and you either win or lose - that's the whole magilla.  No orders to fulfill, just files to send to EPCC for printing, perhaps a phone call or two, and done.  You get maybe six boxes in the mail with your 3 gross of decks, easy peasy

Commit to illustrating a completely custom deck of cards. Will the winner have their run of the bells and whistles of a custom deck? Metallic inks, embossed tuck? Choice of tuck material? I think I could make the deck accessible enough to appeal to more than just the geek chic crowd.. I'm thinking I might be better off drawing up a few more designs and getting the communities input and trying my hand at crowd funding for an idea like this that might strike better in different circles. But I don't have the time right now to spend the weeks of non stop number crunching to do enough math to have that financially planned out.

[Don Boyer]

Thinking about running with this idea for 2DDC, not sure if I am ready to commit to the project yet though, thought I might throw up an idea I have been working with at work today

Well, there's nothing to "commit" to as far as the contest goes.  You enter and you either win or lose - that's the whole magilla.  No orders to fulfill, just files to send to EPCC for printing, perhaps a phone call or two, and done.  You get maybe six boxes in the mail with your 3 gross of decks, easy peasy

Commit to illustrating a completely custom deck of cards. Will the winner have their run of the bells and whistles of a custom deck? Metallic inks, embossed tuck? Choice of tuck material? I think I could make the deck accessible enough to appeal to more than just the geek chic crowd.. I'm thinking I might be better off drawing up a few more designs and getting the communities input and trying my hand at crowd funding for an idea like this that might strike better in different circles. But I don't have the time right now to spend the weeks of non stop number crunching to do enough math to have that financially planned out.

A design like a binary deck would have higher geek appeal, thus would probably be better suited for a short print run following a Kickstarter campaign.

Beyond creating the art - mandatory for any contest entry - there are no other commitments.  And the reason I advise contestants to hash out their designs on the Design/Dev board is to get people to run their ideas up the flagpole and see if people salute it.

The contest winner will have to discuss any extra features with Bill Kalush.  He will want to make a deck that's salable and profitable, so bells and whistles aren't out of the question, but they aren't guaranteed either, especially if they make the deck prohibitively expensive.  I'm pretty sure that the Evil Deck had a custom deck seal, though I don't think it had anything beyond that.

[ecNate]

Here's some similar retro ones for comparison sake.

http://www.portfolio52.com/node/2092




http://www.portfolio52.com/node/1877
http://www.portfolio52.com/node/1878