Cardistry: 3 Questions with Jared Hall of VICE Playing Cards

Conceptualized and designed by Jared Hall of Occupied Card Co., VICE Playing Cards is an 80s inspired design with a contemporary twist currently funding on Kickstarter. The deck hearkens back to the bright neon palettes of the 1980s with an undeniably unique aesthetic, used to create a vibrant, cardistry-focused deck of cards. On the inspiration, Jared told Kardify,

Occupied Card Co. came to be from me as a kid watching Fontaine videos and realizing that it's possible to actually create something and see people enjoy your creation even as a young kid. Combined with a passion for magic which eventually switched to cardistry / card collecting, it only felt right that I eventually create a deck that I can say I made. 

VICE features vintage colors, retro swirls, a one-way sun, double border and serves as an homage to the flashy, day-glo look of the 80s. We had a chat with Jared about the inspiration behind VICE Playing Cards, support from the community and his favorite flourish and cardistry deck.

1. What is your inspiration behind the VICE Playing Cards? How did you come up with the idea?
My fashion style has been "vintage" for the past few years, I love everything about the 80s and the flashy in your face style that comes with it. When my partner Frank came to me with an idea for a deck following an 80s sun theme, it only felt right to make a design come to life following that flashy 80s style. After weeks of trial and error, we finally came up with what is now Vice cards.

2. We first noticed VICE Playing Cards on Instagram. What do you think of the cardistry community in terms of the feedback and support that you’ve been getting so far?
The feedback thus far has been overwhelming, after hitting over 50% in the first 24 hours, we knew that people felt as strongly for Vice as we ourselves do. The community, for the most part, is an extremely positive place where people are continuously building off of each other's ideas, and we couldn't be more grateful to be a part of it.

3. Finally, what are your favorite flourish and playing card decks? 
Any flourish with big displays like spin doctor are definitely some of my favorites, I love moves that show off the back design with some added motion to really show the viewer what the deck looks like with some movement.



My favorite decks are definitely simpler ones that are on the more experimental side of things, but also the ones that do it right. Checkerboards and dots immediately come to mind, but Entry 01s are definitely among my favorites. Thanks for the opportunity!

If you liked what you read here and would like to support the VICE Playing Cards, head to Kickstarter here! Pledge starts at $13 and the deck will be printed by United States Playing Card Company on crushed Bee (premium) stock.