Brief 2 - Playing Cards: Waddingtons LTD

John Waddington from Leeds, England was the founder of Waddingtons card company, although he changed the companies name several times.

Waddingtons became a famous maker of playing cards mainly after there was such a high demand for playing cards around WWI. As a company they originally started of as a printing business but changed purpose with the new demands. They also produced famous board games and surprisingly they were were also one of the major producers, they created folded cartons, such as toothpaste, easter eggs and cigarettes.

His card designs really focused on the art and the design of the card rather than just showing the numbers. He wanted to find a creative a beautiful way of doing this. Here was one pack of cards where paintings of the British seaside were painted on the back of the cards and on the front the detailing of the card is spectacular.

A vintage set of cat playing cards from Waddingtons cards. Not all card backings had a repetitive blue or red pattern on the back but rather something which made it appropriate or appeal to a certain group of people.

Cards could be used (and still are but not as famously today) as a way of advertising. The cards above are shown as an advertising for Hovis bread. the packing and the backing of the cards keeps it central and almost ties the idea of bread into the cards - something people used to pastime, traditional and part of who they were. In the time when Waddington created these cards it was a great way to advertise because without the more technologically advanced ways in which we could advertise today, cards provided something that was held in the hands a lot and also looked at. This way the advertising would be seen but perhaps not always consciously.

 Waddington also looked into creating more fun and appealing boxes for the cards. The use of bright orange makes it look like a toy - something to play with but the seriousness of the black brings it back down to being sophisticated and not only for children but involving harder games in which adults can get involved.