Kickstarter: 7 Questions with Jason Haynes of the NOBLE Deck

Three years in the making, NOBLE is an elegant deck of playing cards inspired by the ancient traditions and noble lineage of the royal regime. The deck has been meticulously designed from the ground up by Jason Haynes and is currently funding on Kickstarter.

The NOBLE deck, while fully custom, has a very familiar look and feel to them. Each court cards features a retouched King, Queen and Jack with specific pieces completely redesigned. From the subtle shapes in the crowns to the detailed patterns in their lavish attires. The tuck box will use soft touch magic black stock adorned with eye-catching gold foil to fit the 'Royalty' theme!

Just after the launch of the project, we had a quick chat with Jason about his design background, the inspiration & design process behind the NOBLE deck and his takeaway lessons from previous Kickstarter projects.

Can you tell us about yourself and what is your design background?
I’ve always been interested in design. I was one of those weird lego kids that would spend all night building and rebuilding whatever came into my head. From there I persued the ultimate building of things - Architecture. Since graduating, I’ve really become increasingly interested in more tangible types of the design - like playing cards. I still have my day job, but running my passion projects is what I live for.

What do you most love about being a designer? And what are some favorite projects you’ve worked on?
I think my favorite part about being a designer is seeing an idea come to life. It’s amazing to think you can start with something in your head, get it down on paper and if you keep pushing that idea can actually become a real thing. I’ve designed lots of big things like bars and offices, but I have to say the Noble Deck is one of the most challenging and exciting things I’ve worked on. The amount of thought and detail that goes into something so small is astonishing. I’m inspired as I think about bringing this deck into the hands of the hundreds of people that helped make it a reality.

Can you describe the Noble deck and why you’re passionate about it?
The Noble Deck is inspired by the ancient royal regime. I wanted to bring back some of the ornate detailing that really defined that era. The gold that’s used throughout the design is there to represent the regal decoration that’s an important part of every royal decor.

One of my favorite things to do when traveling abroad is visiting the old castles. It’s amazing to see all of the things that have been preserved from that time. It’s even more amazing to think about them sitting around playing cards - the same cards that we use today. This deck was created to pay homage to that amazing noble age.

Walk us through the process you took to design the deck. How did you approach this project and get to this finished product?
This deck was originally started over 3 years ago. I actually originally launched it 3 years ago on Kickstarter, but decided to pull the plug and continue to flesh out the details. Since then, I’ve had this project on and off my desk. I would take it a day at a time and redesign it piece-by-piece, card-by-card. There have been multiple versions that have evolved since the project's inception.

I started by sketching out the elements on paper. From there, it’s a back-and-forth process of scanning the sketches and reworking them digitally. Once I have a design on the computer I print it out and sketch over the pieces that still need to be refined. This process was repeated until each detail was working in harmony.

What was your most brilliant breakthrough when designing the deck?
I have to say the most amazing breakthrough came after I canceled the original Kickstarter project. I had a flood of people that reached out to question what happened and offer their support. After leaving the project alone for awhile I started thinking about bringing it back. Once my mind was made up, I was determined to redesign everything and make the project happen. Thoughtful messages continued trickling in throughout the process - each message inspired me to keep moving. After years of slowing reworking the deck, I’m glad that I kept pushing. I’m grateful to the people that didn’t let me quit.

You have successfully funded numerous Kickstarter campaigns. What are a few key elements and principles you incorporated into your project that you think future Kickstarter creators could benefit from knowing?
I think the biggest thing about launching a project on Kickstarter is the willingness to be human. You must be 100% transparent, accountable and even vulnerable. People usually don’t back the product, they back the person and their story. When you’re able to explain why you’re doing what you do, it goes a long way.

I love doing Kickstarter projects because you have the opportunity to simultaneously collaborate with hundreds or in some cases thousands of passionate people. Taking the suggestions and feedback to enhance the product is essential. The goal is really to make something that everyone can enjoy.

Finally, what are your favorite playing cards?
Theory11 - pretty much all of their stuff is top notch. In particular, the Medallions and Artisans are probably two of my favorites. The details are always incredible and the custom ad-ons really give you much more than a deck of cards.

Thank you for your time and all the best, Jason! At the time of writing, the project is already 34% funded with less than 30 days to go. If you want to support the NOBLE deck, you can find it on Kickstarter here!


Pledge starts from $14 and the deck will be printed by the USPCC. There are multiple rewards that are waiting to be unlocked once the project hits its stretch goals, most notably the equally stunning White NOBLE deck at $25k.