introducing the new 'pluck tuck' dieline

redefining your views on cards...

This year the 2nd Annual National Playing Card Collection Day (NPCCD) was celebrated. Created by Seasons Playing Cards, this holiday was made as part of their mission to help people rethink the way they look at cards - shifting from the typical mindset of games and toys and into an accepted medium of art for collectors worldwide.

To address those goals we wanted to build awareness around the newly created holiday by developing  a product that would generate intrigue from the public into the small niche. However, unlike a standard packaging design prompt whose goal is to stand out in the market, our challenge was to literally establish a new market category by packaging an ideal and mindset rather than just a physical product itself.

DESIGN INNOVATION //

The initial starting points of the design were the emphasis of ‘2’ for the second annual celebration and the quatrefoil – a symbol that represented handcraftsmanship in the pre-industrial revolution and eventually evolved into a symbol for luxury.

The new dieline for this project is what is delightfully call the “Pluck Tuck”. The packaging was built from the ground up. In celebration of the second annual, the box splits into two pieces contradicting  the industry standard one-piece tuck box. Rather than using a typical head-and-shoulders dieline, the cards inside already create a natural guide eliminating the need of the inner sleeve. This allowed an inversion of the concept and instead developed an exterior friction sleeve which provided a valuable opportunity in real estate for titling and limited edition numbering of each box.

The sleeve is cleverly shaped to maintain friction along the edges to keep the box together while being held upright, while still allowing the user to easily pluck off the top or bottom box half to reveal the cards inside. This innovative package design causes the user to rethink about the way they interact with the cards causing a more memorable and differentiating experience.

PRINTING INNOVATION //

I wanted to use the beautiful handcrafted printing process of engraving on the packaging but needed to keep production within budget. The solution was to figure out a way to produce the inner box to a single plate design that could be used for both top and bottom halves.

If the left flap was glued over, necessary legal would show to create the bottom half. If the right flap was glued over, the edition name ‘Second Annual’ would be exposed making it a top half. Different color stocks were randomly used throughout to give variety to the market offerings and create an enticing randomized “gumball machine” effect to help encourage multiple donation purchases to get different colors. Face panel flaps folded inwards increased rigidity of the structure while also achieving bonus interior printing. All of this was done in a single press run which allowed the project to take advantage of economies of scale while still maintaining it as a limited edition item.

MARRYING MATERIALS //

The packaging was printed specifically with raised metallic gold engraving onto NEENAH® pearlescent paper. It was noticed that hot stamp foiling creates a single planar reflection while metallic engraving has several small metallic flakes. By matching the metallic gold engravings specifically to the NEENAH® pearlescent stock I was able to marry the shimmering aesthetic together into the overall visual design system.

The inner box is officially sealed with a roman numerical '2' representing the anniversary count and made to look like stitch marks that connect the deck together before the seal is broken.