Just Type V2 Playing Cards

Just Type is a modern reinterpretation of classic playing card design and a tribute to the different ways in which the spirit of type can be modified. Paula Scher, a titan of the graphic design world has helped to redefine modern typography. Working with fellow Pentagram designers Jeff Close and Kristin Huber, Scher has playfully deconstructed the classic French design of traditional “playing cards” and removed all extraneous elements. All that’s left is Just Type.

Edition 1: Embraces big, bold postmodern elements. Oversized numbers constructed of simple shapes fill the entirety of each card. While each composition could stand on its own as a piece of art, taken together, this collection of 56 images represents a totally unique approach to a familiar form factor. Each number and letter is pushed to the breaking point, shattered into elemental pieces that evoke abstraction, yet communicate so clearly, they can be read from across the room.

Edition 2: Offers a minimalist approach in the spirit of classic mid-century design. Each card features an amalgamation of suit and value that expresses its identity with a single figure. An extraordinarily clever visual system makes use of negative space to incorporate the traditional pips (clubs, hearts, spades, and diamonds) into custom-drawn letterforms. The result is both beautiful and humorous.

Together, these exceedingly adaptive versatile explorations of type prove once again that Scher is a master of pushing words beyond their literal meaning into the realm of purely visual expression. Or, as she more succinctly puts it, “Typography is painting with words.” With these Just Type Playing Cards, Paula Scher demonstrates, once again, why she is one of the most influential and respected graphic designers in the world.

Printed by the US Playing Card Company on premium card stock and housed inside a letterpress-printed tuck box.