As a full time working mom I sometimes marvel at how I created my own custom card deck from start to finish. I struggled at some points, figuring out everything from concept development to manufacturing and selling. Along the way, I researched color palettes and fonts, I investigated what other people were creating and selling on a variety of platforms like Kickstarter, Etsy and Amazon. I did a lot of google searches to size up the competition and get pointers. I watch Youtube videos, read blogs and Reddit forums about anything from different card stocks to printing company reputations. I learned and documented the real cost to manufacturing (printing) a custom card deck in the USA, and also overseas in China and Hong Kong. I ran headfirst into every challenge in designing a custom deck—but I made it through, and now I’m here to help you do the same. Why? It’s a way for me to reflect on the whole process and also pay it forward to those who might find it helpful.
Admittedly, I had a leg up because I already had design skills under my belt. However, I definitely don’t fit the profile of a typical custom playing card creator. I’m older in my 40’s, a “geriatric” mom who works full time and has little to no spare time. But slowly I figured out a way. And I’m here to hopefully inspire others and say it can be possible with a concept you’re passionate about, ideally having kids out of diapers, and maybe a little luck with some time management. And perhaps this “post mortem” reflection on the whole process will help others.
Reasons to Design Your Own Deck. Why I was inspired.
People create custom decks for all sorts of reasons. Some people create decks for pure artistic expression, crafting something beautiful that can be collected and admired. Others see it as a business opportunity, tapping into the growing market for unique, niche-themed card decks. And of course, many brands use custom card decks as promotional tools—because nothing sticks in people’s minds quite like something interactive.
For me, I had many reasons for creating HanaFooda Hawaii Grinds playing cards. The main reason was to pay tribute to my family’s connection to the Hawaiian Islands and my desire to honor those memories after the devastating 2023 Maui fires. You see, my father’s home town was Lahaina. As an artist I was looking for an outlet to express all this sadness. I was originally just going to do some paintings of the house that my dad grew up in (that burned down). The more I reminisced, the more I came to realize how much food played a central role in these memories. Through this curated Hanafuda Poker deck I created, I aimed to capture all my favorite foods from the islands. To dip into a mixture of contemporary local Hawaiian Grinds, elements of native Hawaiian food and a touch of island history.
Types of Custom Card Decks. The choices behind mine.
Before diving too deep into the design process, you need to decide what kind of deck you’re making. I mean sure, don’t hold back from brainstorming ideas, sketching out drafts and letting the creative juices flow. But it’s really important to also decide on the size of the final product. What are your specs? Will it be the standard poker deck size or something else? A little bit of UX design thinking at this stage will help in the long run. And those not familiar with that term, in this case it basically means know your audience. Who are these cards for? If you know who the ideal person it’s for, then you can craft them in a way that best fits their needs.
These are the questions I asked myself to help me narrow down who I envisioned playing these cards I was creating.
- Is this only for me and my family? Is this only a glorified personal project?
- Do I want to try and sell these?
- Is there even a market for what I envision creating?
- Do I want to create something that poker card collectors will want to buy?
- My deck is firstly a Hanafuda Deck, so do I try to mimic those small hard traditional Hanafuda tiles? If so, where in the world can I find a manufacturer?
- I’ve seen “mini” dual hanafuda/poker card decks…do I want to do something like that where I keep the very small size of traditional hanafuda cards, but have the much more affordable printing costs of using playing card material and not the hard tiles?
- If I make a “mini” card deck, will that alienate potential customers because it’s too niche and specific?
- Is there anyone out there that already created a similar deck? What are their specs?
In the end, I decided that I was going to go for it and try to sell this deck I was making. I envisioned that family members young and old would be playing with these cards, so I wanted the size to be one that can be handled by all generations. I didn’t want costs to be out of reach for the average working class family, so I decided to not go with any specialty sizes that would increase production costs. In general, I wanted this deck I made to feel unique and special, but also accessible for anyone who wanted to enjoy them.
The Real Cost to Create a Custom Card Deck
Let’s talk money, because while creativity is priceless, printing is definitely not. (This is assuming that you are the artist and you are creating your own designs and not paying for something to do this.)
Printing is the next big expense. If you’re just making a few copies for yourself or a small group, print-on-demand services (aka POD) will charge around $20 per deck with no upfront costs. But if you’re serious about selling, bulk printing is the way to go. Manufacturers offer much lower prices per deck (sometimes as low as $3–$4 per unit), but you’ll need to order in large quantities—typically 500+ decks. I found the best deals I got started at bulk orders of 1000+ decks.
Then there’s packaging. A simple tuck box is the most budget-friendly option, while a custom magnetic or foil-stamped box can easily add a few dollars to your cost per deck. And those little extras start adding up when you consider bulk prices mean you are ordering hundreds, if not thousands of decks.
And don’t forget shipping (and long term storage if needed)! Whether you’re mailing decks to customers or handling fulfillment for a crowdfunding campaign, shipping costs can add up fast.
I’m going to write an in depth article about my personal experience with playing card printing companies both domestic and overseas. I’ve documented my quoted prices from them and will lay out my comparisons. It’s such a big topic and huge decision, it deserves a lot of attention.
Biggest Challenges in Designing a Custom Deck. The roadblocks I ran into.
The first hurdle? Having the confidence to make artistic decisions without consulting with anyone. I am no guru, so I don’t have any great words of wisdom. I can only say, I came to a point in my life where I was tired of compromise and collaborating. Yes, I am still a team player, but I hadn’t had a creative project where I was able to call the shots in a very very long time. I had just come off a collaboration with my husband…and if anyone has worked with a significant other, I don’t need to say how rewarding but also challenging that can be. I mean there’s already so much “compromise” needed in a regular relationship…and adding that to a working relationship…lets just say I was ready to have a project entirely my own where I could just be my own boss. I was ready to be the alpha dog. So, that inner annoyance was a driving force in me. It was stronger than the insecurities I had about my artistic abilities. This was by far the largest artistic venture I had decided to do since art school, since I got married, and since I had kids. But looking back, even though annoyance was a catalyst…the more I worked on my designs, the more I started to feel really good about what I was doing. I became confident about my choices and started to trust that inner artistic voice more.
Making sure your deck has a cohesive design. It’s one thing to slap an image onto a card, but another to design a full deck that flows well, is easy to read, and actually looks like something people want to use. That’s why I implemented the concept of a “Contact Sheet” (thank you Luigi). I used this really great workflow tool to “keep you honest” as one past coworker put it. It’s kinda like those traditional old photographic contact sheets where you see a little thumbnail of a bunch of photos. In my case, I would compile flat exported images of my cards into a table of columns and rows so I could view them all at once. And I would update this “Contact Sheet” every now and then. It helped me see how the color palette was coming across. If any designs were feeling repetitious. It helped me catch errors and see where I could improve. It’s like taking a step back and looking at the big picture of your cards.
Finding the right manufacturer is an adventure. I went down the rabbit hole on this one and did what felt like was a ton of research. And as I said previously, I’m going to include an in depth article on this topic. But in general it’s a balancing act of cost, quality and quantities.
And then there’s marketing. It’s what everyone says, building an audience before you launch is key, whether through social media, niche communities, or a Kickstarter campaign. I personally decided not to do a Kickstarter campaign. I had already run a successful one with a memory matching chess card game called Chess Openings. It was a project I launched with my husband. It is a lot of work, and I just didn’t want to do that again. Especially since I had a good response from a retailer that wanted to sell my cards when they were finished. So I didn’t need any crowdfunding reassurance that I had a viable product. BUT, if you plan to crowdfund, you’ll need a compelling pitch, strong visuals, and a strategy to drive traffic to your page. I’ll say this for my past Kickstarter experience…it forced me as the designer/owner to further define my project in the commercial/marketing aspect. I had to ask questions and come up with answers that I hadn’t already done. It helped me prep marketing material that I would go back and use later after the campaign already ended. It made me get organized about building a website for and creating sell sheets to send to potential retailers.
In general, marketing is probably my weakest link. Firstly, I don’t have any budget for marketing, so I can’t just throw up google ads or anything like that for visibility. I don’t have a huge online following. I’m not an influencer, and I don’t post things just to try and get followers. My online existence has been basically through school friends, family and work colleagues. Maybe it’s like this for a lot of average people out there. So as I figure out my online strategy I will share what works and what doesn’t for me. Because, as I have been told so many times by online blog tips…you could have the most incredible thing to sell in the world, but if nobody knows about it, you won’t sell a single one.
Quick Summary of the Design Process from Idea to Final Product
So how do you actually do this? Here’s an overview of the my design process, step by step.
- First, you need a concept. Pick something you are passionate about. Something that inspires. Because that’s what’s going to keep you going after working all day, after a commute back home, after changing diapers or having to do dishes. Questions that can be helpful:
- When do you feel the most alive or fulfilled?
- If you could teach or share knowledge about one thing, what would it be?
- What do people often come to you for advice or help with?
- Once your design is ready, prototyping is a must. Printing a small test batch will help you catch any issues before committing to a large order. Also it’s great to send them to people who are in your target demographic. I was lucky enough to have a few colleagues that were in the art field who also were from Hawaii. They also connected me to a few other people I didn’t know, but who represented a consumer demographic I was targeting. Their feedback help shape my final product.
- I implemented some basic UX design style questions at this phase to try and get some good research to better my playing cards. Some Questions I asked to give an idea of what I was looking for. And since I’m a newbie at the whole UX research stuff…these were my best guesses at what I should ask:
- What do you think this card deck is about?
- Was there anything confusing or unclear about the packaging, text, wording or images?
- If you saw this in a store, what price range would you be willing to buy it at…would $15 or $20 be reasonable? Why or Why not?
- What works well with the design, any favorite parts?
- Next, you’ll need to choose a manufacturer—research different printers, compare costs, and order samples to ensure quality. Again, I’ll post and article soon on what I found regarding this. If you’re crowdfunding, this is the stage where you launch your campaign and start promoting like crazy.
- Finally, once your decks arrive, it’s time to sell, ship, and market. Whether you’re listing your deck on Etsy, running Instagram ads, or working with influencers, getting the word out is just as important as making the cards themselves. (More to come here too!)
Final Thoughts
And that, my friend, is a quick summary of making a custom card deck—from my perspective. From the first spark of an idea to a finished, shuffle-ready product. It’s a rollercoaster of creativity, logistics, and marketing, but in the end, you’ll have something real. Something uniquely yours. And if you do it right? Something people will love.
Follow me along as I continue to post and document my way thru this new venture I’m embarking on. Please be patient and remember, this is just my side gig…and I post when I can.