Review: Theory 11 Rebels

The Theory 11 Rebels were designed by Shepard Fairey's StudioNumberONE. Shepard Fairey is the famous designer/artist who did the iconic Obama Hope poster as well as album art for many national recording artists. The Theory 11 Rebels were released on August 31, 2012. Review taken from the archive of TuckCase.

The Specs:

Name: Theory 11 Rebels
Company: Theory 11, Designed by StudioNumberONE
Release Date: August 31, 2012
Stock: FSC-certified stock
Finish:  Eco Finish
Colors: Black, Metallic Silver, Gold, White, Red
Face: Standard
Size: Poker

The tuck case is truly a work of art. The design is filled with iconic and symbolic imagery that is bordered by embossed metallic silver ink. The US capital building is the centerpiece of the two way back design as a two headed eagle, which is used throughout history on flags and other historical pieces, is the main piece for the front of the tuck case. I like the contrast between the name "Rebels" and the heavy imagery that often depicts the State or unity. Although it seems to be contrary, Theory 11's website states the following:

The back design proudly features the United States Capitol Building, a timeless symbol of our nation’s united spirit of independence.  

With that, the theme of this deck can be interpreted in many ways as it is quite mysterious as to why the elements were chosen. The deck can be saying that the US is a rebel as in independent country or it could be paying homage to the way our founding fathers rebelled in history to secure the nation's independence or it can be saying something else. The up-for-grabs interpretation definitely adds to the deck's appeal.

Once you open the tuck case, you are instantly greeted with a red inside. This is a nice change as most decks usually do not do much with the inside of the tuck case.

The deck is a standard 52 deck with 2 Jokers, one double back and an ad card. The two jokers do not offer any differentiation or secret reveal. I am surprised there is no reveal as this deck seems like it would offer something like that given its use of iconic symbols throughout. The Jokers  feature silhouettes of dancing but symmetrical jokers. Despite taking up most of the cards, the joker design is very light. The design is a nice fit in a deck that comes with so many strong objects.

The Ace of Spades is one of my favorite Ace of Spades ever, as it is a huge spade with the double headed eagle in the middle. This iconic image within another iconic image is extremely powerful. I do not think I have ever seen a stronger Ace of Spades design.

The court and number cards are traditional and predominately feature heavy and dark gold, red and navy inks. Given the metallic silver used on the tuck case, I am surprised the court cards did not feature colder colors.  Although I am surprised, it is certainly not a bad thing. To me the contrast shows just how much this deck "rebels" against the mind as you think you will get one thing but you end up getting another.

Aside from design, this deck performs like the majority of the Theory 11 decks. Fanning is quick and slippery but provides enough grip to keep control. Durability is also at the max. This deck can be shuffled, fanned, dealt and dealt again without losing form and snap.

Notes on the Theory 11 Rebels Playing Cards:

• Designed by StudioNumberONE, which is owned by Shepard Fairey.


• Heavy contrasting elements.


• Features the latin phrase, Et Lux In Tenebris Lucet,  which means "And light shines in the darkness" on the back design and tuck case.

Final Assessment: The Theory 11 Rebels are most definitely in my top 5 favorite playing card decks. The iconic imagery exemplifies strength, confidence and power. All three feelings and qualities that are needed to perform under pressure, whether it be in close proximity to a small group or in front of a huge auditorium in front of hundreds. The Rebels are the epitome of it's name by utilizing contrasting colors and statist imagery. The only thing this deck doesn't rebel against is the handler's hands.

Final score: 9.7 

Deck View: Zenith Playing Cards

Elegant. Intricate. Stunning.

Zenith is the first deck in the Encarded Signature Series masterfully crafted by Paul Carpenter. This stunning deck is a dramatic re-imagining of several commonly seen playing card themes: the black and white deck design, the central circular medallion motif, and borderless design. 

Housed in a special sideways opening tuck box made of elegant, thick matte black paper, Zenith is adorned with amazingly detailed and vibrant holographic silver foil and sealed with a sequentially numbered seal (xxxx/1000) under the cellophane. 

Find more awesome decks at JP Games. Use the code KARDIFY10 during check-out to get 10% off for orders over £50.

Deckstarter: 7 Questions with Steven Watson of Alice in Wonderland Playing Cards

After weeks of radio-silence, Deckstarter is BACK with an eye-catching deck, the Alice in Wonderland Playing Cards! Designed by Steven Watson, this custom deck bring a touch of the magical and surreal world of Wonderland to you. The modern styling combined with lavish Art Nouveau and Art Deco ornamentation transports you down the rabbit hole to a surreal world presided over by the Queen of Hearts.

Unlike a traditional deck, the Alice in Wonderland courts feature typographic royals with custom suit symbols as crowns. For fans of the classic fairy tale, you will be delighted to know that iconic quotes from the story are peppered throughout the deck. As for the masters of the art of Cardistry, a special cardistry Edition will feature card backs with unique floods of black and gold on card faces of the spade and diamond suits respectively.

With permission from Deckstarter, we've republished the 7 Questions with Steven here on Kardify. Steven talks about his background, designing and the story behind the Alice in Wonderland Playing Cards.

Would you please introduce yourself to our readers by telling us a little about yourself, your background, profession and interests?
I grew up in Boston, MA and attribute the beginnings my success to great parents who encouraged me to keep drawing past age ten. We also had a family motto that if you could say something that might be funny, “you ought to go for it.” This helped me develop a conceptual ability to make observations about what was going on around me. I received a BFA in Graphic Design from Brigham Young University and shortly thereafter moved to Seattle where I worked for various design and branding firms.

In 2004, I started Turnstyle together with Ben Graham and Matt Diefenbach. We are celebrating our tenth anniversary this year. I attribute my continuing success to the talent of my business partners and to a fantastically talented wife and two amazing kids who inspire me every day.

What do you most love about being a designer? And what are some favorite projects you’ve worked on?
There are two things I love about being a designer. First, I love boiling something down to it’s essence in a way that makes it even more interesting—making astute observations that distil reality in order to enhance identity. Second, I love getting a reaction. Making people laugh, amusing and delighting them. If my work cannot do that, at the very least I want to enlighten. My favorite projects are often the ones I’m currently working on. I think designers generally have an insatiable appetite to create new things. That said, some of the most memorable projects I have worked on have been a an art book/compendium for Teague, branding and packaging for DRY Soda, and anything that gets letterpressed.

Tell me about the story of how this deck came to be?
This deck actually had its genesis as part of another project. My wife, Bret Ashlee, leads a drama program for the PTA at the elementary school my 8-year old son attends. The goal of the program is to develop confidence by exposing them to theatre arts. This past school year they put on a stage production of Alice in Wonderland Junior. The production included a cast and crew of over 165 kids (K-5) who put on four shows, with total attendance topping 1600.

Under the auspices of Turnstyle, I donated graphic design service by creating a brand for the show. Branded items included a show logo, playbill, posters, T-shirts and playing cards. The custom deck of playing cards were used to promote the show and were also incorporated into the costumes for the Queen and King of Hearts. You can see the original materials produced for the stage production on the Turnstyle website.

When I shared the original deck with Andrew Gibbs from The Dieline, he graciously invited us to adapt them for Deckstarter. This was a welcome opportunity for us to elevate the production value with meticulous printing on premium stock using metallic ink, embossing, foil stamping and varnish techniques. In the process of adapting the cards for Deckstarter, we have refined the design by adding metallic details on each card as well as adding and refining typographic nuances. We are grateful to Andrew and the team at Deckstarter for the opportunity to craft a premium deck of cards that meet or exceed our production expectations.

How do you approach this project? Specifically, what led you to the modern styling for the Alice in Wonderland deck and why?
The story of Alice in Wonderland has seen hundreds of interpretations from illustrated books and comics to stage productions, ballets, TV shows and, of course, movies. The tone of the Wonderland stories are playful yet slightly dark, and full of double meaning. We sought to make the design reflect this by limiting the color palette to black, white and gold together with lively ornamentation evocative of the Art Nouveau design styles popular during author Lewis Caroll’s lifetime. Iconic quotes from the stories are included on the ace cards and tuckboxes. The bespoke “double” typeface is evocative of the many double meanings prevalent throughout the story. As a graphic designer, I love typography and so it was natural for me to take a minimalist typographic approach to the court cards.

Do you have a favorite character from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland?
In the elementary school stage production, my son was the March Hare, so I have an affinity for that character. But I have always liked Tweedledee and Tweedledum—they are the most overtly comedic.

Where you aware of how many different decks of cards there are when you began to design these, and if so, were there any decks in particular that inspired you?
Truth be told, I am not really a card player and so I really had no idea how many decks of cards existed before I started this project. I naturally take a minimalist approach to design and so in doing some research, I gravitated to typographic decks and decks that were not overly ornate. Ironically the backs of the Wonderland decks are very ornate. I think maybe it is the balance of ornamentation and minimalism that intrigued me.

Lastly, did your kids sign off on these designs? We Just have to be sure.
My son who played the March Hare and my daughter (now in middle school) always critique my designs. I’d like to think I’m helping them develop a refined design sensibility. They are always an enthusiastic audience and immediately wanted to know when they could get their hands on a deck. They were excited to hear that we are going to produce a new edition with “fancy” printing.

If want to support the Alice in Wonderland Playing Cards, you can find it on Deckstarter here.


Pledge starts from $8 and there will be two versions of the decks available. The Players Edition will feature white and gold tuck boxes and uniform white backgrounds across all card faces making them better suited to gameplay and the Cardistry Edition featuring black and gold foil tuck boxes and card backs with unique floods of black and gold on card faces of the spade and diamond suits respectively.

The cards and tuck boxes will be meticulously printed on premium stock with sophisticated black, white, and metallic gold color inks, together with embossing, foil stamping and varnish techniques. Also, there are multiple add-ons available such as the uncut sheet and the limited edition Deckstarter promotional deck.

Kickstarter: 7 Questions with Arseniy Balabin of Castle and Kingdom Playing Cards

The Castle & Kingdom Playing Cards are a beautifully illustrated deck of cards inspired by those delightful animated movies that we've all come to love over the years. Created by Arseniy Balabin, this enchanting deck features illustrated characters that proclaim their position within a specific kingdom.

For example, the Hearts portrays romance and the true stature of the royal court, while the Clubs rules the forest and the Kingdom of Nature. A unique story of fantasy and fairy tales on each deck of cards.

We reached out to Arseniy and we had a chat about his design background, the inspiration behind the Castle & Kingdom playing cards, the design evolution of the deck and his thoughts on Kickstarter.

Can you tell us about yourself and what is your creative background?
I am originally from eastern Europe and I traveled a lot with my family at a young age. I graduated from university a few years ago with applied computer technology but I missed the opportunity to work in that field by mistake. My current job is in the food and beverage industry. We just launch our first Kickstarter project, Castle & Kingdom playing cards featuring the work of Alexander Skachkov. He's one of my most talented friends, I know. We co-operated our ideas and designs, to launch something we know you're gonna like.

This is your first Kickstarter Project. Why Kickstarter?
Every product starts from sharing a concept that develops into draft design, prototype and then finally produced. Not forgetting the budgeting and marketing too! Kickstarter is an excellent platform to combine all these steps in the most effective way. With more than 900 similar campaign over the past 5 years, it is incredibly difficult to see such success from a similar crowd-funding platform. Also, they do provide an easy-to-use interface to create project outlines and updates.

Can you describe the Castle & Kingdom Playing Cards and why you’re passionate about it?
I adore European history. The theme of playing cards along with Castle and Kingdom compliment each other well. Unlike other playing decks that use the usual square faced designs for every suit, Castle & Kingdom illustrates characters that masterfully reflect their position within a specific kingdom! From Hearts portraying romance and the true stature of the royal court, to Clubs who rule the forest and the Kingdom of Nature. Every card tells a unique story of fantasy and fairy tales.

How much time did you spend working on the deck and can you briefly go through the design evolution of one of your unique card design?
I know that some enthusiasts work on design for a couple years and unlike professional game designers, we were finding ways to do it faster. The design of Castle and Kingdom took us around 2 months. All characters on our playing cards started from paper.

As you can see with Queen of hearts, we had some option to choose which side she looks. First variant was eliminated just before adding colors. Second sample seemed to us much better and has been transferred to digital painting.

From the project page, what are a few of your favorite reward levels and why?
One of my favourite reward offered is the 2 decks and poster pledge tier. The poster features the castle on a sunny day with the 4 rulers from each kingdom, I think it's gonna be cool when your friends ask, "What is that? I haven't seen that movie!". Of course, the early bird special is pretty awesome! Wish, I had the opportunity to price the decks as low as possible. So, all I can do is to quote limited quantity for backers.

What are your thoughts about the continuous strong growth of playing card projects?
Custom Playing cards by amazing artists and entrepreneurs are easily made available now. Printing companies offer a minimum quote which aspiring designers can use with well supported services. Even USPCC is ever-ready to co-operate with individuals and any decks can be Bicycle branded. This has increased the awareness amongst collectors.

Finally, what are your favourite playing card decks?
There are many playing card decks I like but since I am a fan of Mafia video games, one of my favorite is the Ger-Made deck. Another really amazing ark work I find is the Sherlock Holmes Museum playing cards by Chao Yung Huang. Hope, she'll surprise us again.

Thank you Arseniy for your time and sharing with us your Kickstarter project! All the best! Pledge starts from $10 and the Castle & Kingdom Playing Cards will be printed by the USPCC.