Custom CPC chip design, Looking for thoughts (2 Viewers)

[redrobin3]

Did pretty well in Las Vegas last week so I'm working on designing some end game poker chips from CPC. I'm most likely going to use the Ewing mold since it supports 1 inch inlays. Other options would be Circle-Square with 1 inch inlay as well. Open to any thoughts or ideas for making this set pop.

The edge spots were chosen by balancing edge progression with price point. I really like the idea of incorporating the previous chip's color into the edges of the next higher chip. For inlay design I really like a minimalist approach in order to keep the focus on the chip design.

 

[GreatWhiteDope]

Poker chips are very personal and all that really matters is that YOU like them. So the following thoughts are just food for thought based on how they strike my eye. If you are looking to keep the focus on the chip design, instead of the very stark black and white of the current inlays, consider using a slightly softer white in the center and making the black area the color of the chip itself or a complimentary shade of that color. The current black chip is a good example of how this would come off. On the white chips, perhaps use a gray instead of black to make the contrast a little less striking to the eye. I like minimalist inlays as well, but these seem a little unbalanced with the diamond/teardrop shape being closer to the bottom than the top and the name being entirely at the top and the bottom being blank. Maybe split the name with "Professor G's" arced around the top and "Cardroom" arced around the bottom and moving the diamond/teardrop area up a smidge to balance it out.

I literally just finalized the inlays on my first CPC set today and can't wait to get them in a few months. I think I went through 6 or 7 different versions of the inlay and at least as many combinations of edge spots. But I was a little happier with each iteration until I was really happy with the end result. Good luck with this and enjoy the process!!!

 

[redrobin3]

Second version of the chips with some color added to the inlay and shifted the words around. I also made lavender more prominent on the 1000 chip. The colors will look a little different when printed since they are in CMYK format but it looks pretty good on the monitor. I'm feeling pretty happy with these changes with the only exception being if I can find some better shades for the 1 and 5000 chip. I could add an outline to the text to allow me to use a lighter shade but I like the clean look without an outline.

 

[allforcharity]

To avoid dirty stacks, don't use common colours between adjacent denominations.

 

[shamrocker47]

Love the design, you really “picked” one that stands out.

 

[redrobin3]

The only chip I see that can dirty stack badly would be the yellow chip. I was already swapping colors around and I think this color scheme fits better and once again keeps the focus on the base chip color better than before.

 

[Phoe9x]

Have you bought a color sample? Colors are pretty different between real life and the screen.

 

[Okku]

I understand that you want to keep it simple, but I think there is SO MUCH room for making these chips more spectacular. You're spending money to get a fully custom set, FULL CUSTOM...

If you need an designer for the inlay I'm down to give it a try, but I'd love to see something more with these. To me the inlay seems too plain.

 

[redrobin3]

Version 3 of the inlays adding some contrast but also having the Guitar Pick color match the chip color. Only thing I'm not sure of this approach is that the white chips need a different color for the denomination. I have also tried keeping the guitar chip white and coloring the number but it just wasn't striking enough.

Edit: White denomination with red text for comparison.

 

[Taghkanic]

My honest reaction is that I don’t see a lot of relation between the colors and the spots. Feels a bit random. I do think changing the inlay background has improved things.

 

[Phoe9x]

Version 3 of the inlays adding some contrast but also having the Guitar Pick color match the chip color. Only thing I'm not sure of this approach is that the white chips need a different color for the denomination. I have also tried keeping the guitar chip white and coloring the number but it just wasn't striking enough.
View attachment 1450524View attachment 1450525View attachment 1450532 Edit: White denomination with red text for comparison.

Why do you want a 1” inlay if you’re just going to have a color ring around the edge?

 

[Cratty]

I understand that you want to keep it simple, but I think there is SO MUCH room for making these chips more spectacular. You're spending money to get a fully custom set, FULL CUSTOM...

If you need an designer for the inlay I'm down to give it a try, but I'd love to see something more with these. To me the inlay seems too plain.

I'll go a step further to hit the point home.. as I'm very thankful to have received all the candid feedback I have on my sets (which are all still far from perfect). IMO The inlay as it stands isn't good. Doing minimalistic logos are actually some of the hardest to do well in my view, as every minor detail becomes extremely important.. spacing, text choice, color selections, white/fill space balancing, etc.

There are amazing designers here to work with (Okku being one of them), please seriously consider working with one.

 

[redrobin3]

I really appreciate all the feedback so far. I'll give it until Sunday before I decide if what I have designed is good enough to print on the chip. If I look at the inlay and think to myself that something is still missing then I'll look to hire some help. By taking the time to make my own inlay I'm also giving myself time to really make sure I want to make this big of a purchase.

Edit: Cleaned up how busy the colors looked and also shrunk the numbers just a bit to make spacing a bit cleaner.

Edit 2 chip inlay version 5, cleaned up spacing yet again for even better centering, added a comma to the 1k and 5k chips and added a slim color border to make the inlay pop.

 

[Premeon]

As @GreatWhiteDope mentioned, poker chips are very personal and if YOU like the chips, that's all that matters. However CPC poker chips can be quite the investment because of the pure quality of the chips. The last thing you want to happen is when you've ordered and received the chips just to come up with new design ideas afterwards that you regret not thinking about before. That's why I think it's good that you ask for feedback here that could give you new insights. Also consider to ask a designer for help, it could really boost your design and you can always refuse some designs if YOU don't like it or agree with it. In the end the designer is there to help you with your grand ideas with a little touch of their experience and their creativity. Currently @Okku is helping me out with one of my Sunfly Polyinno projects, for which I'm very thankful. I can't imagine doing it without the help of an experienced designer!

 

[ant812]

are you committed to that pick shape for any reason? if not, id suggest the more common shape such as this. i think it just looks more like a pick to people that dont play guitar. just my opinion.

 

[redrobin3]

The pick shape is my actual personal pick I use from intune guitar picks. Has the sharp attack of a jazz III but also has an easier time playing chords.

 

[ant812]

Gotcha, that makes sense then.

 

[Cratty]

I really appreciate all the feedback so far. I'll give it until Sunday before I decide if what I have designed is good enough to print on the chip. If I look at the inlay and think to myself that something is still missing then I'll look to hire some help. By taking the time to make my own inlay I'm also giving myself time to really make sure I want to make this big of a purchase.

Edit: Cleaned up how busy the colors looked and also shrunk the numbers just a bit to make spacing a bit cleaner.

View attachment 1450943


Edit 2 chip inlay version 5, cleaned up spacing yet again for even better centering, added a comma to the 1k and 5k chips and added a slim color border to make the inlay pop.

View attachment 1451065

Inlays are moving in the right direction. Definitely need to make sure you're designing with trim/bleed in mind though. There are some CPC inlay zone guidelines linked at the bottom of their chip design tool that you should take a look at to make sure what you are looking for is feasible too.

 

[GreatWhiteDope]

I really appreciate all the feedback so far. I'll give it until Sunday before I decide if what I have designed is good enough to print on the chip. If I look at the inlay and think to myself that something is still missing then I'll look to hire some help. By taking the time to make my own inlay I'm also giving myself time to really make sure I want to make this big of a purchase.

Edit: Cleaned up how busy the colors looked and also shrunk the numbers just a bit to make spacing a bit cleaner.

View attachment 1450943


Edit 2 chip inlay version 5, cleaned up spacing yet again for even better centering, added a comma to the 1k and 5k chips and added a slim color border to make the inlay pop.

View attachment 1451065

I like the matching outer circle but I would lose the commas

 

[redrobin3]

Inlays are moving in the right direction. Definitely need to make sure you're designing with trim/bleed in mind though. There are some CPC inlay zone guidelines linked at the bottom of their chip design tool that you should take a look at to make sure what you are looking for is feasible too.

Yea I have the guideline circles on the files to double check where the inlay will be cut. I also have an exact zoom % that makes the chip on the monitor life size to check how it would look at different distances. I'll probably add just a tiny bit more thickness to the outside colored circle and remove the comma again since the 1k and 5k seem a bit too small at a distance.

Edit: Version 5.1 with comma removed and color border enhanced. All that I see left to do is edit the colors to comply with CMYK standards. I'm really grateful for the help and feedback. The inlay looks pretty crisp and clean compared to where it was at the beginning.

Edit 2: Another day another version. Here is 5.2 with a different font on the label. I also re-centered and spaced out the letters to get it as even as possible.

 

[redrobin3]

Looks like it's finalized, I've color corrected and simplified the vectors to maximize compatibility. Everything is setup for CMYK in the files as well and I've setup each individual inlay as a separate PDF. Now the last step remains. I have to just not look at it for a day or two then open up the preview and see if it makes me smile. If it doesn't pass that test then it's off to hire a real professional. Thanks again everyone for taking the time to offer their input and ideas. It never would've looked this good without all the help.

 

[ant812]

i like what you settled potentially settled on, they look great. i will also be placing an order with that mold in a week or 2 once i finalize my colors. hopefully production for that mold comes up soon. i asked about it the other day, its not even on the schedule yet. im wondering if he is waiting until april 27th to make any new schedules.

 

[redrobin3]

i like what you settled potentially settled on, they look great. i will also be placing an order with that mold in a week or 2 once i finalize my colors. hopefully production for that mold comes up soon. i asked about it the other day, its not even on the schedule yet. im wondering if he is waiting until april 27th to make any new schedules.

I'm going for an Ewing mold but the elephant and crown mold was the only one I feel approximated 1 inch inlays the best.

 

[Cratty]

I'll also add that they've come a long way since the first mockups, much better and think a designer is optional at this point (where before I knee jerked to required, ha). Could they be improved? Depends as there's the tradeoff of satisfaction of being 100% your work.. but they're now at the point that I think you can and should be proud of them. Good work.

That said, double check your trim/bleed area? I assume you either need to add more bleed otherwise you might risk your thin border cut off around the edge, unless OK with the odd chopped chip.

 

[redrobin3]

I have a bleed added to it but when I put it in the chip designer it kind of over shrunk the inlay so I have to adjust it by zooming in a step. In the raw files I have some space before the cut. When I measured it using the guides it has about .024 inches between the dash and the colored border. In total the black circle measures 1.05 inches. Both guides shown below in red.