INTELLIGENT DESIGN
Beauty, they say, is in the eye of the beholder. Let me tell you, that goes double for card design. During my tenure as a brand manager with Panini, design was a constant struggle. When it was time to start work on a new product, I would lay out my ideas to our creative team. And they, typically, would turn in something altogether different than what I’d envisioned.
is would lead to heated “discussions” between myself and the art director about how best to proceed when we both felt passionately about our competing visions.
In the end, I would largely acquiesce to their concepts. Which makes sense. A er all, I’m a writer. ose guys were trained artists. Experts. Design was their thing. And more o en than not, they turned out to be right. (I won’t mention that other time...)
I thought about those struggles while reviewing the 30-year history of Upper Deck’s Young Guns cards. Scanning through them, I realized that while there were a couple designs which didn’t hold up particularly well, most were at least solid. Several, in fact, were brilliant. 2002-03, for example, with the color photo superimposed over the ghosted background image, was absolutely top notch. So was the 2010-11 design, with the player name up top and the bold Young Guns logo. And then there’s the simplicity of the 2011-12 look, which succeeds by letting the photo do the talking.
Of course, when mentioning the designs I love I recognize that some of you are cringing in response while wondering what I could possibly see in them. at range of response illustrates the nearly impossible job card designers face with every new release: cra ing a look that’s consistent with the brand while still appearing fresh and exciting. It’s a requirement that seems to set them up for failure and yet they consistently crank out excellent work that sends out the exact message intended and keeps us coming back for more.
All this is my way of saying thanks to some of the unsung heroes of the hobby, the women and men who continue to surprise and delight us with their creativity. And yes, I should have listened to you more o en.