Midcentury modern deck

[Sinecure]

Hi all

I’ve been playing around with this deck concept for ages. It’s mostly inspired by Peter Sellers’ The Party in a 1960s modernist cartoon style.

I’ve really enjoyed making them but they have thrown up a few questions for me. Hoping to get some thoughts:

(1j My last Kickstarter campaign, Dairy, funded, but not super strongly. That doesn’t bother me. I love doing decks so I’m grateful that Dairy (and Passport) got supported enough to become a reality. Truth is I’d still do it for fun regardless. But it does make me cautious about doing a Kickstarter if there isn’t likely to be an appetite. I feel like Dairy and this one are kinda niche and aren’t particularly targeted towards cardists, magicians, collectors or even game players - which probably isn’t a recipe for success. So my question is pretty simple. Do you think this concept/execution is strong enough and interesting enough to warrant a Kickstarter attempt (or could it be with refinements)?

(2j I got accused by a couple of people of using AI on Dairy. The accusations eventually went away after I posted a timelapse video of me drawing on Reddit and Insta but I imagine some damage was done. A kind artist on the thread gave me some good advice: (1) record timelapses of drawing sessions as proof (which I now do frequently and have done for these) and (2) avoid historically inspired artstyles which you could expect to see AI emulations of. Afraid I haven’t listened very well to the second piece of advice. Trouble is I really enjoy that retro commercial and cartoon vibe. I will ensure to post lots of timelapses but I fear people may have an instinctive aversion to stuff they feel could be AI. Any thoughts on this?

(3) Even if this deck ends up being just for fun and never sees a printer, I’d love to get some feedback generally - for learning. In addition to the cards themselves, you’ll see I’m torn between a few different names for the deck and am kicking around various embellishments like maybe a day and night tuckcase, a gradient-type gilding to look like water, and the idea of printing part of the tuck design on a clear deck sleeve that changes the scene when it’s on. Just ideas and things I thought might be cool at this stage, but open to any thoughts/ suggestions.

[drboone]

My 0 / 2 -

The artwork of the first tuck is my favorite, I think. I rather like the card face and back artwork, fonts, and color choices. I have a co-worker who is a lover of all things mid-century modern, who should definitely have at least one copy too.

I tend not to go for a lot of the multiple varieties / colorways / gewgaws / gilding stuff. The latter, especially, often seems to place me in the minority in this crowd. Another minority item is that I would probably like the tuck better without the Bicycle branding.

I spent a few minutes trying to come up with a way to inject the word "sinecure" into the deck name, without much success. ("MidSinecure Modern"!)

Hope you get good feedback, and hope to see this deck in person some day! And thanks for Passport.

[Honeybee]

On Point 2. I can't really explain my aversion to AI other than that I am old and that I am in awe of people with artistic skill. I might even be venturing into the realm of: "But AI could have done that" as in 'capable of' as a negative.

I agree with the Dr that the first tuck with the couple on it is the best

I know it was supposedly the future and in space but for some reason the project gives me a 'Jetsons' vibe - which I like

I would not buy this draft edition because of all the pattern background. I don't know whether it is the color that is making me notice the abundance of it or what it is. I would definitely prefer to see Much more of the Court characters than those wide borders

I don't mind the backs and get the pastel palette/theme but wonder what they might look like if the colors popped a bit more (this could be a bad idea) I'm just not sure that I would buy the deck for those backs and that is the reason I buy many decks.

As far as gilding goes, I have a bit of an aversion for gilding that requires the deck to be in NDO for it to look good. Quite often I believe edge-printing is a better choice than gilding.

Have fun Sin

[BaconWise]

I love the vibe of these, Michael. It's fun, quirky, and very polished. The pips and card backs are especially fantastic! I would love to see a tuck that has the same blocky artwork as the card back. That would look amazing embossed

Love the concept of the DS1 sleeve enhancing the artwork of the tuckbox.

Hoping you put this into production. Another collab with X-decks, perhaps?

[Sinecure]

My 0 / 2 -

The artwork of the first tuck is my favorite, I think. I rather like the card face and back artwork, fonts, and color choices. I have a co-worker who is a lover of all things mid-century modern, who should definitely have at least one copy too.

I tend not to go for a lot of the multiple varieties / colorways / gewgaws / gilding stuff. The latter, especially, often seems to place me in the minority in this crowd. Another minority item is that I would probably like the tuck better without the Bicycle branding.

I spent a few minutes trying to come up with a way to inject the word "sinecure" into the deck name, without much success. ("MidSinecure Modern"!)

Hope you get good feedback, and hope to see this deck in person some day! And thanks for Passport.

Thanks for the feedback - really appreciate it. I feel like I need to spend some more time getting the tuckbox right but good to know your preference for the first one. Also good to get that feedback on the Bicycle branding as it would be tough to sell enough decks to meet USPCCs 2500 deck minimum order anyway. Fun idea to get my handle in the title somehow! Cheers

[Sinecure]

On Point 2. I can't really explain my aversion to AI other than that I am old and that I am in awe of people with artistic skill. I might even be venturing into the realm of: "But AI could have done that" as in 'capable of' as a negative.

I agree with the Dr that the first tuck with the couple on it is the best

I know it was supposedly the future and in space but for some reason the project gives me a 'Jetsons' vibe - which I like

I would not buy this draft edition because of all the pattern background. I don't know whether it is the color that is making me notice the abundance of it or what it is. I would definitely prefer to see Much more of the Court characters than those wide borders

I don't mind the backs and get the pastel palette/theme but wonder what they might look like if the colors popped a bit more (this could be a bad idea) I'm just not sure that I would buy the deck for those backs and that is the reason I buy many decks.

As far as gilding goes, I have a bit of an aversion for gilding that requires the deck to be in NDO for it to look good. Quite often I believe edge-printing is a better choice than gilding.

Have fun Sin

Hey, thanks Honeybee. Appreciate the feedback! Love to hear that it puts you in mind of the Jetsons. Thats definitely the animation period that I took inspiration from. I even kicked around the idea of making it futuristic - leaning into what I think they call “atomic modernism” with 60s egg chairs and at all that.

Thanks for the feedback on the pattern background. That might be a bit heavy-handed. Will play around with toning it down or simplifying. It could easily look a bit muddy once printed. Fair point about the backs and the palette - there’s definitely trade off between making it pop and making it feel ‘in period’. I’ll keep tweaking. Great feedback

[drboone]

The background feels like wallpaper to me, and I didn't think about it being obtrusive.

For fun, an image search for "mid-century modern wallpaper". Awaiting your gasps of horror, Honeybee.

[Sinecure]

I love the vibe of these, Michael. It's fun, quirky, and very polished. The pips and card backs are especially fantastic! I would love to see a tuck that has the same blocky artwork as the card back. That would look amazing embossed

Love the concept of the DS1 sleeve enhancing the artwork of the tuckbox.

Hoping you put this into production. Another collab with X-decks, perhaps?

Hi Jamie! Thanks for the feedback. Love that you love the vibe I’m shooting for.

Thanks for noticing the pips. It’s a small thing but I’m kinda proud of how they turned out (using just rotated quarter circles of the same radius and the negative space of those circles).

The tuckbox is definitely my main challenge. Might need to go back to the drawing board a bit. Trying to find a balance of 60s animation, modernist but not artsy, quirky but not silly - proving tricky.

Glad you like the deck sleeve artwork idea. Even if not for this deck, I think it has a lot of potential for cool effects.

Yes, if I can get the deck to a point I’m happy with, it would be an X-Decks collab. I’m not convinced this deck has wide enough appeal for a Kickstarter yet but hoping to get it there.

[Sinecure]

The background feels like wallpaper to me, and I didn't think about it being obtrusive.

For fun, an image search for "mid-century modern wallpaper". Awaiting your gasps of horror, Honeybee.

2026-04-15-161050_1433x1030_scrot.png

No gasps of horror from me. i love those geometrics and love the period - what a wild time for pattern making. I’m definitely shooting for these vibes. I’m cool with the background giving 60s wallpaper - so long as it’s not fighting the other artwork - which it is a bit currently.

[Honeybee]

The background feels like wallpaper to me, and I didn't think about it being obtrusive.

For fun, an image search for "mid-century modern wallpaper". Awaiting your gasps of horror, Honeybee.

2026-04-15-161050_1433x1030_scrot.png

No gasps of horror from me either
I was putting up not dissimilar wallpaper in my first ever property in 1980 (it was flocked!)