Do you like this back design?

[Trident Cards]

Hi all,

When we developed Elements last year, we actually developed two back designs. We had an internal contest and what you know as Elements was produced. We were going through our files today and found the alternate design, and thought it would interesting to get your thoughts on it. I want to keep this simple with just a YES/NO poll. Hope everyone has a great weekend Thank you.

Best,

Alex Ferrate
Casa Antigua LLC

[The_OG_Rocco]

Hi all,

When we developed Elements last year, we actually developed two back designs. We had an internal contest and what you know as Elements was produced. We were going through our files today and found the alternate design, and thought it would interesting to get your thoughts on it. I want to keep this simple with just a YES/NO poll. Hope everyone has a great weekend Thank you.

Best,

Alex Ferrate
Casa Antigua LLC

What brand of playing card is this?

[Trident Cards]

Rocco,

They were never made. Our artist drew this a over a year ago, but we didn't put it into production. Like Elements, the design was inspired by Native American art. Just wanted some general thoughts on the design. Thank you.

Best,

Alex Ferrate
Casa Antigua LLC

[Martini]

I voted no but I don't think it's terrible or anything. The thing that stands out most to me is that it looks like a rectangle was cut out of a pattern and stuck on the back of a card as opposed to the pattern being built to fit the back of the card. The pattern simply repeats and seems to get cut off arbitrarily. For instance, if the "wheels" on the left and right edges were removed and the top and bottom of the card had different treatments then it would appeal to me more. The motif itself is a little edgy for my tastes. It reminds me of astrological symbols which can be appropriate for an "elements" theme. When I first glanced at the design the first thing that popped into my mind was a steampunk motif but upon closer inspection the design diverges from that.

Thanks for soliciting input. Nice to know that vendors are willing to research first and *then* produce. If they had done that for the "poker peek" cards then they likely would have avoided the backlash among the WSOP players.

[Trident Cards]

Yeah, the point of the exercise was to develop a repetitive pattern that used some of the "elements" of Elements. The design that went into production was radical in some ways so we knew that the reaction "on paper" would be mixed, but in the end it developed a very loyal following. We listen to what folks have to say here and in other online communities - but we also have to follow our own heart, not only because we have a lot of information about the industry, but also because we enjoy what we do. aF

[The_OG_Rocco]

I voted no but I don't think it's terrible or anything. The thing that stands out most to me is that it looks like a rectangle was cut out of a pattern and stuck on the back of a card as opposed to the pattern being built to fit the back of the card. The pattern simply repeats and seems to get cut off arbitrarily. For instance, if the "wheels" on the left and right edges were removed and the top and bottom of the card had different treatments then it would appeal to me more. The motif itself is a little edgy for my tastes. It reminds me of astrological symbols which can be appropriate for an "elements" theme. When I first glanced at the design the first thing that popped into my mind was a steampunk motif but upon closer inspection the design diverges from that.

Thanks for soliciting input. Nice to know that vendors are willing to research first and *then* produce. If they had done that for the "poker peek" cards then they likely would have avoided the backlash among the WSOP players.

I agree with Martini on this one.

[Detroitdad]

Nope, not at all. 

There was a reason the Elements won.

B

[OldWestGambler]

I like it a lot. But I am a huge fan of art deco, "dark deco" and sci-fi. The design brings to mind, specifically, for me, the film Metropolis.

[pauld22]

Nope, don't like it.  Looks way too busy to me.  Reminds me of this optical illusion:

[jahvity]

I agree with pauld22. I don't think this works in B&W for a card back, the way it's presented is kind of harsh. If you were to mix up some color within the design, I think it could look really good.

Was the original intention for this design to be in B&W? Do you have any versions with color?

[Midnight Rose]

Black?  No.  But it might be pretty funky as a rust-colored back.

[Trident Cards]

It's harsh, but that's just the image that we had in our file - didn't want to burn any $ on this. I'll try to dig up the original version of Elements so you can see both as we got them from the artist. We need to make more Elements so we are reviewing what we did and thinking of how to make it better. Thanks. aF

[irishpenguin]

Nope, don't like it.  Looks way too busy to me.  Reminds me of this optical illusion:

X2, kinda gives me a headache.

[Trident Cards]

Thanks all - your thoughts were helpful. We now have a clear idea of where to go.