These typographic playing cards were made to showcase Didot. Didot was designed by Pierre and Firmin Didot and was released in 1783. It’s considered by many to be the first modern serif typeface and was inspired by the Baskerville typeface by John Baskerville. It preceded it’s Italian competition, Bodoni. Didot showcases a high contrast between thick and thin strokes, a geometric structure and a vertical axis. The typeface led the way into regularized widths of capitals and it’s used quite often in magazines. The curved tail of the Q, the heavy serifs, the curved leg of the R and the stepped joint in the W are all features unique to Didot.

 

With these cards, I used letterforms as well as elements of the letterforms (i.e. the tail of the Q) to make unique radial designs for each of the 13 cards in a suit. The number card designs were more simple and the face cards more complex. On the back is a pattern using a very simplified radial design; this pattern can also be seen on the inside and back of the box.