Deck View: ARW V3 (Standard Edition) Playing Cards

Neon. Dynamic. Striking.

ARW V3 (Standard Edition) Playing Cards is the evolution of Luke Wadey’s arrow-based series with a more expressive, hand-drawn aesthetic. The back design centers on the now-signature twin arrows, sketched into a layered composition that forms a bold, recognizable pattern—especially effective in fans and flourishes. Neon ink plays a key role, reacting vividly under UV light and bringing the design to life with a glowing intensity.

Faces feature custom pips with subtle arrow integrations, while the courts and Ace of Spades expand on the theme with hand-drawn arrows and typography woven into the artwork. The contrast between clean structure and freehand styling gives the deck a distinct street-art influence. The tuck box follows the established ARW design language with bold graphics and typography, enhanced with neon accents. 

Printed by the United States Playing Card Company, Available for $20 on Luke Wadey's online store.

Deck View: Grid Series Four Playing Cards

Bold. Typographic. Futuristic.

Grid Series Four playing cards was launched in 2022 and continues the typographic approach of designer Luke Wadey, building on the success of the earlier Grid decks with a striking neon green visual identity. 

Rather than relying on traditional pips, the cards communicate their values through graphic text, numbers, and layered visual cues. Each card contains multiple pieces of information... up to seventeen elements! Allowing the value to be interpreted in several different ways. 

The faces feature full-bleed black and red designs, while the backs use a minimal white-and-green graphic pattern that creates a strong visual effect in fans and spreads. Distinctive Jokers and ad cards bring the deck to 56 cards in total. The redesigned tuck box introduces a unified style intended to carry forward across future Grid releases.

Printed by Cartamundi on Slimline stock with B9 True Linen finish, and available now on Luke Wadey's store for $20.

Final Day on Kickstarter, GRID Series 6 Playing Cards

The eighth deck in the GRID collection by UK designer Luke Wadey continues an eight-year exploration of typographic card design. Series 6 features a bold full-bleed neon orange back with white accents, custom faces, pips, and typography inspired by an isometric grid. 

Modern fonts, custom suits, and intricate details make each card a visual experience, with elements like dual color-changing timelines that animate as you rifle the deck. Under UV light, the orange ink glows vividly.

The deck includes two jokers, two ad cards, and four additional typographic cards, including a social card and a Swiss design tribute card. The orange tuck box features a clean 3D grid design with wrap-around artwork.

Kickstarter exclusives include a PDF certificate, wallpapers, stickers, and signed collector cards for early backers. Also, limited editions and add-ons, like a half-brick box and special signed decks, are also available.

Printed by WJPC on 300gsm German black core paper with a linen finish. Pledge starts at $12 on Kickstarter.

ARW V4 Playing Cards

The 4th installment in the ARW series has arrived, featuring neon ink that reacts under UV light for a dazzling visual experience. Building on the innovative design concepts of its predecessors, ARW V4 by Luke Wadey explores the fluidity and movement of flowing liquid, taking inspiration from the way ink or paint swirls. 

The card back features a two-way design with iconic ARW arrows set in white against neon yellow and green inks, creating a striking contrast against the swirling black background. This bold and dynamic design offers a blend of symmetry and wildness, reflecting the progression of the ARW range from linear to more fluid and expressive styles.

For the Kickstarter campaign, ARW V4 is available in several options, including V4, V4.1, and a Kickstarter-exclusive Limited Edition. Each edition brings its unique flair, with the V4.1 offering a different tuck box design that features the neon inks, showcasing a vibrant splash of color that embraces the card back design. 

The Limited Edition introduces a new design and color-way, featuring a full bleed one-way black design, hand-numbered sticker seal, and a personalized additional ace of spades card.

Under UV light, the neon Pantone inks of ARW V4 come to life, highlighting parts of the deck in a mesmerizing glow. This feature adds an extra layer of visual appeal, making these cards perfect for performances or just enjoying their unique aesthetic. 

ARW V4 aims to blend the best elements of previous decks, offering a stunning and unique addition to any playing card collection. Printed on linen-finished 300gsm German Black Core Paper by WJPC. Pledge starts at $12 on Kickstarter.

Matrix Edition 2 Playing Cards

Matrix Edition 2 Playing Cards, designed by Luke Wadey, are inspired by historic Swiss graphic design experiments, particularly the International Typographic Style’s pioneers like Armin Hofmann. This deck is a follow-up to Matrix Edition 1 and is currently live on Kickstarter.

The second Matrix deck features a two-way back design and a fully customized deck and tuck box. The product features neon Pantone ink, giving it a vibrant and eye-catching appearance. In addition to its striking design, the set includes four bonus cards, including a double backer card from the Matrix Edition 1. The Matrix decks are based on historic graphic design principles, particularly those exploring the fluid matrix of circles. This design experiment focuses on creating dynamic shapes from a grid of circles, resulting in abstract and recognizable forms.

The Matrix Edition 2 deck evolves this concept, featuring new pips and courts on the card faces and a symmetrical (two-way) back design with neon yellow ink contrasting against black and grey sections. The narrow border creates interesting shapes in fans and spreads, with colors designed to captivate spectators. The neon ink used on the cards and tuck box reacts under UV light, making the yellow sections stand out prominently.

The deck includes 13 different card face shapes using the circular grid, combined with custom pips to enhance functionality. The power ace (Ace of Spades) features an enlarged pip graphic made of circles, and picture cards are recreated in a minimalist circle design overlaid with large ‘K, Q, or J’ letters.

The tuck box wraps around with a representation of the card back displayed across three sides, and the neon yellow ink creates a striking visual effect.

Standard editions are printed by WJPC using the linen-finished 300gsm German Black Core Paper, while the Limited Edition 2 features a new full-bleed design and colorway will be printed by MPC, including three additional cards, a hand-numbered sticker seal, and a personalized additional Ace of Spades.

Pledge starts at $18 on Kickstarter.

RPM Nitro Playing Cards by Luke Wadey

Designer Luke Wadey has launched a new deck of playing cards called RPM Nitro on Kickstarter. The design of these cards is inspired by the sleekness and high performance of hyper cars. This neon-infused deck is the first in a series of hyper car-themed playing cards, blending Wadey’s passions for design, cards, and cars.

RPM Nitro features vibrant neon Pantone ink, a two-way back design, and a fully custom deck and tuck box. Wadey, originally an aspiring car designer, has combined his expertise in graphics with his love for cars to create RPM Nitro.

The neon ink on the deck has a UV-reactive property that further enhances its dynamic design. It features a central circle for cardistry, sharp, angled borders, and high contrast colors. The exclusive ace of spades features a striking neon car silhouette.

The campaign also offers RPM Panther, a Kickstarter-exclusive edition with a full black colorway, limited to the number of pledges received.

The standard edition of RPM Nitro is printed by WJPC. Backers can also add items such as deck signing, car sketch postcards, and previous decks to their pledges. Pledge starts at $12 on Kickstarter.

Final Week on Kickstarter, “Let’s Play V1” Playing Cards by Luke Wadey

Meticulously crafted by Luke Wadey, “Let’s Play V1” playing cards is a fresh and innovative take on traditional playing card design. Currently funding on Kickstarter, “Let’s Play V1” marks the inception of a new typographic collection inspired by cardistry. 

“Let’s Play V1” elevates the art of playing card design to an entirely new level. It explores graphic treatments by combining effects, typography, and patterns. The theme revolves around visually representing and altering emotions through graphic design. 

The deck’s one-way back design features the words ‘Let’s Play’ contorted across the card, creating a mesmerizing effect. Each card face boasts its own warped typography, transforming all 52 cards into distinct pieces of art while remaining practical for gameplay.

Even the aces receive a unique treatment, with a single pip moved around the card. Additionally, the deck includes a double backer card and three jokers that collectively form a single captivating artwork when properly aligned. During cardistry flourishes, the deck comes to life as the shapes twist and turn, generating unique patterns and illusions.

The tuck box mirrors the deck’s innovative design, making it not only functional but also visually striking. It can be used for card flourishes or displayed as a remarkable piece of art.

Produced by the prestigious United States Playing Card Company, this deck is part of a one-time print run with a limited production of approximately 1500 decks.

“Let’s Play V1” also offers a limited edition variant in a striking all-black design, exclusively available through this campaign. This edition includes 55 cards printed on Linen stock with an MPC finish. The tuck box can be signed free of charge, and personalized ace of spades cards are included. This limited edition promises to be a rare and coveted collector’s item.

Available NOW on Kickstarter from $11.

Matrix Edition 1 Playing Cards by Luke Wadey

Luke Wadey’s first crowdfunded deck of 2023 is a typographic playing cards with a twist. Matrix Edition 1 is inspired by the work of the infamous Swiss designer Armin Hofmann in 1965, best known for his help to define The International Design Style as we know it, and his iconic poster work, but in this case his fluid matrix, or as some people know it as the ‘rubber bands’ study.

The concept is fairly simple, it is to explore the relationship between lines and dots, using a grid, or matrix, of 4×4 dots that work together to create fluid shapes. Luke told Kardify,

I decided to explore this for myself. It was in this experiment I wanted to create unique card faces, featuring abstract, artistic values by experimenting with different size circles, different spacing, different amounts of circles. 

Luke was able to find combinations that he could create his own font for the card faces, as well as a dynamic card back, both exploring different combinations of circular grids and the shapes he could create with them.

All the card faces were designed first, the unique curves holding tension between each shape, linking to each other, a diverse range of angles and depths to establish a set of unusual forms. 

The deck needed a card back that complimented the faces, something understated, that wouldn’t look out of place as a poster on your wall, whilst showing dynamic shapes that create interesting spreads and fans. Luke continued,

For this new collection, I wanted to start it with a colour combination I have been using in my day-job work for ten years, the cool nature of the teal contrasting and complimenting the coral tones. With continual feedback from my patrons, with different designs and colours explored, it was to my joy that we all felt this was the best combination to start the collection with.

The tuck box itself provides contrast to the deck, embracing the coral color and using the card back design as a wrap-around graphic. Luke has included further information in a typographic treatment,  as well as a large negative space ‘1’ to show this is the first deck in the collection.

As mentioned, this is the first deck in the Matrix series. Luke plans to create even more abstract combinations and experiments based on the same principles, the possibilities are limitless.

Printed by USPCC on crushed premium bee stock, traditionally cut with air-cushion finish. Pledge starts at $11 on Kickstarter.

ARW V3 Playing Cards on Kickstarter!

Following the success of Luke Wadey‘s most ever funded, and community award-winning deck, ARW V2, the latest edition, V3 brings a vibrant new design to the palm of your hands, using neon ink! ARW V3 now takes street art and looks at it more in a hand-drawn form- a complex combination of arrows sketched to form a dark base and foundation for the card back. On the design, Luke mentioned,

Working on the ARW collection, I have found confidence in how I want the future decks to look – the large twin arrows form an instantly recognisable graphic which captures the eye in flourishes – cuts and fans and establish an ownable asset for the range. These also are great for isolation routines, and the two-way back means magic isn’t out of the question either.

For a real burst of colour, Neon ink is used. ARW V2 showed how great this could look under UV light, so get the V3 with a UV torch on it and watch the arrows, entwined in the background, come to life and catch the attention of any spectator. All four suits make use of the custom pips and include small subtle arrows in the form of cuts into the pip or acting as the base of the icon.

The custom courts have been updated with the neon arrows prominently featured. The contrast of colours in this deck is bold, it’s clean execution combined with freehand drawn effect takes the ARW collection in a new but familiar direction.

The eye-catching ace of spades embraces the style of the card back with hand-drawn arrows, typography and the iconic ARW arrow.

To follow the collection, the standard tuck box uses a similar layout as the previous ARW decks- bold typography and graphics, with new backgrounds and colours! Neon ink once more highlights the deck. Also, the sides of the tuck follow the fashion of previous ARW decks and they look great when lined up together!

The deck comes in TWO variations; V3 (printed by the USPCC) which is the standard deck, V3 LE (printed by MPC) featuring a full bleed back design and it is custom personalised. Pledge starts at $11 on Kickstarter.

Deck View: Mono - heXa Playing Cards

Dynamic. Vibrant. Hexagon

The fourth deck in the Mono collection, heXa sports a vibrant neon purple color scheme teamed with the unmistakable pattern work of the Mono decks creating a hexagonal theme.

Designer Luke Wadey wanted to create a real sense of energy in the design and crafted it with the cardist in mind, whilst still keeping a 2-way back design and remaining playable and usable for all.

The face cards use border details mainly for aesthetics in fans and spreads, the lines form a strong color block when stacked. Each suit comes with a slightly different variation.

The deck will be printed by USPCC on crushed, premium bee stock, and traditionally cut. Available for £10 on lukewadey.co.uk.

First Look: Grid Series Four- Typographic Playing Cards by Luke Wadey

Coming this week on Kickstarter! Grid Series Four picks up from Luke Wadey‘s popular GS3, bringing an all-new design and neon green aesthetic. A typographic deck, the faces are unconventional and will truly stand out in your collection, the value being displayed in numerous different ways, each card holding 17 pieces of individual information!

Instead of traditional pips, you will now get bold graphics text and numbers combined with subtle details, each time you look at the card you’ll discover a new way to read it, a trait recognizable from Luke’s previous work now.

With full-bleed faces in pure black and red, the card back also makes use of a full-bleed graphic, the white and green combining to create a minimal aesthetic that still packs a punch when in fans or spreads. Distinctive jokers and ad cards make up the 56 card deck total.

The new-look tuck forms the base for the new Grid decks going forward, a consistent style will now be created so the new generation of typographic decks works even better together as a suite.

The deck will be printed by Cartamundi on Slimline stock with B9 True linen finish. The Kickstarter campaign launches on the 14th of April at 14:04 BST and comes loaded with exclusive bundles and competitive pricing making this a campaign to continue the legacy of Luke’s previous Grid decks which are now pretty much sold out worldwide, with GS1 being Luke’s first-ever funded deck.

There will also be add-ons such as limited and special edition decks, custom half brick boxes and more, special gifts for Luke’s patrons too, so if you are looking for a unique deck in your collection, something totally different for your flourishes, or just want to complete the Grid collection, GS4 is a campaign Luke would love for you to join and hopefully bring this new creation to life.

First Look: Mono-Xero (Chroma Edition) Playing Cards

Fresh off his win in the 2021 Kardify Awards for Deck of the Year: People's Choice, Luke Wadey is back with a very special edition Mono deck. The latest release derives from Mono-Xero, a deck that uses negative space and calculated linework to form a hidden circle on the back of the card. 

Following in the footsteps of the heXa and X Chroma Edition decks, this deck promises to bring a minimal elegance with an all-new design, combining a rich blue metallic ink with the unmistakable linework pattern Luke has come to use in his previous 10 Mono decks!

The chroma decks are designed to feel more refined and controlled than their wild, broken border brothers. With the Mono - Xero : Chroma Edition Luke aims to find a middle ground between designing for cardistry, and minimal contemporary magic deck design.

This results in a deck that draws in the spectator and forces them to see the subtle illusion of the circle on the back design, the lines appearing to wave during movement which is visually engaging during flourishes too, whilst not becoming too distracting during your magic routines.

Each Chroma version of the existing Mono deck utilizes a fresh pattern on the card back, and this deck is no different, with thinner lines converging in the corners for more interesting fans, the waves inspired by the curvature of the circle. With four additional cards including 3 jokers and a double backer, USPCC will be printing a numbered run of only 2000 decks, with an additional small amount more offered as metallic blue gilded versions in a premium foiled tuck box, and non numbered versions too. 

Launching on the 29th of January at 3pm GMT, this short running campaign on Kickstarter needs your support, and as always would truly mean the world to Luke if you could help him make them a reality. Sign up now to be notified when it goes live! 

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Mono - X : Chroma Edition Soars Past Kickstarter Funding Goal

In 2018, Luke Wadey released Mono - X. the first deck in the Mono collection. The aim is to explore how monochromatic color schemes can be used in playing cards. This was then followed by Xero and heXa as the range of cardistry decks grew. Luke told Kardify,

This made me think though, what would Mono decks look like if they became better suited for magic and gameplay, whilst still being inspired by the recognizable cardistry pattern work used on the decks so far? Out of this question, Mono - heXa : Chroma Edition was created, an elegant evolution of Mono heXa, So well received, it confirmed that I wanted to explore this special edition range further, and where better to take the collection next than back where it all began.

This special edition X Chroma is now over 200% funded on Kickstarter. The eye-catching deck uses a combination of metallic and other inks to transform the dynamic cardistry deck into a refined and elegant creation. The custom back design uses the recognizable Mono line pattern technique but is completely reformed to show a different X in the negative space, the lines refined to form an optical illusion, and borders created for more of a traditional approach. 

 

For the face cards, the deck uses the traditional black and red suits for easy recognition. The pips are enhanced with streaks of metallic ink brought into each of the black pips. The ace of spades design is truly eye-catching giving it a modern elegant touch. 

The court cards are custom-modified USPCC courts but scaled-down slightly and the image frame removed, allowing for more natural and coherent placement of the single pip. 

The deck is packaged in a minimal tuck box, maintaining the understated and elegant aesthetic. Printed by the USPCC and pledge starts at only £8 (USD$10) on Kickstarter. Add ons such as custom carat cases, and gilded version edition will be available during the campaign.

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