Wow! Sirocco Playing Cards is a brand new deck by Riffle Shuffle currently funding on Kickstarter. For this deck, author, illustrator, and brand designer Nathan Oser (dribbble: @natetonight), spent six months drawing inspiration coastal life, to create a deck that’s built on a dream and to inspire anyone on a journey.
The artwork of Sirocco is informed by classical themes and a Mediterranean aesthetic but rendered in contemporary monoline style, making the deck timeless and unforgettable. Inside, the card back design is a veritable sea chart waiting to be navigated.
The central compass rose and five flowing rings (known as a quincunx) puts you at the helm of your own destiny, so you can keep your bearings no matter which direction the winds of fate, breaking through the roundels, may blow. There are other design elements waiting to be discovered each with its own meaning, from life preservers, sea turtle to doves, mermaids, and stylized waves.
The court cards feature an ensemble cast of The Navigator, the Vacationer, the Romantic, The Scholar, The Seductress, The Sportsman, the Racer, the Loner, the Celebrity, the Photog, the Student Abroad, and the Captain. Each number card sports an italicized index to build a sense of immediacy and momentum.
The Ace of Spade showcase a relaxing dream-like beach scene, the heart is a fanfare homecoming celebration and symbolized tying-of-the-knot with a loved one; the club is based on an actual event that happened near where Nathan lives, where an entire lighthouse got blown away by a typhoon, never to be found again, and the diamond is a yacht being driven by the wind, and shown racing forward in the rippling reflection below.
There are Two Editions on offer during the campaign: Sirocco Modern Edition and Sirocco Weathered Limited Edition.
Sirocco Modern with its sharp lines, meticulous composition, and guardian mermaids, is not just a work of art, but a token of a lifestyle and experience. The stunning tuck box is adorned with gold and silver paired foiling, intricate embossing, and double-sided printing on a matte royal blue “beauty skin” paper.
The “Weathered” Edition is far more than just a color change. All the artwork has been completely redrawn with an innovative method of digital texturing that produces realistic wear and tear. Also, each individual pip has been redrawn and textured, so that no two are alike.
The tuck box features a “color ravine” paper that is durable and highly textured to give it an impasto effect that brings to mind the stucco and stone views of enduring Greek, French, and Italian shorelines.
Sirocco Playing Card will be printed by Cartamundi with their legendary True Linen B9 FINISH. Modern edition is Limited to 2500 Decks & Weathered Edition is only Limited to 1500 Decks. Pledge starts at $15 on Kickstarter.
