5 of the Most Iconic Playing Card Designs

I’ve been unintentionally card-collecting for the past 8 years. It started as buying the odd deck, then buying decks in small quantities, to now buying them from wholesalers. There is something fascinating to me about the design. In this quick read, I’ll be covering some of the most iconic decks (in no particular order) which influenced card design to what it is today.

Tally-Ho Circle Back Playing Cards

Overlooked by magicians, cardists and collectors as a standard deck… Tally-Ho spread a message with this deck (which was likely unintentional) that design can be utilised to enhance how cards look in motion.

If I were to spin a regular card on my left hand and a circle back on my right hand, you would probably say it looked better with a circle back. This has nothing to do with the move, but rather that the eye can recognise shapes whilst the card is in motion. This gives a similar effect to when you put lights on your bike wheels.

Tally-Ho’s Circle Back’s have influenced a whole herd of designers and companies. We can see elements from Circle Back’s featured in the Orbit decks, Dan and Dave’s Smoke and Mirrors and Ellusionist’s Aurelian’s.