Found Irvine CA design submissions for Cali set, $750 to the winning design (1 Viewer)

[FordPickup92]

I figured I'd post this "wanted ad" in the "wanted" section since most of the people on PCF that I've gotten to know frequent the classified section on a regular basis. I am in the process of putting together a personal Cali relabel set and I am looking for a label design associated with Irvine California.

Backstory

My ex-wife passed away unexpectedly in 2020. At that time my 9-year-old son lived with his mom during the school year in Irvine and with me in the Summer, he obviously now lives with me full time. My 9-year-old son loves poker and probably understands advanced poker math better than I do lol. I'd like to put together a custom Cali set to give to him once he is old enough to appreciate the difference between leaded and non-leaded chips, which may be a way off because right now he only appreciates colors, not weight or sound.

What I am Looking for:

I'm not sure, I just want it to represent where he spent his first 8 years because he looks so fondly upon that time. I spent a decent amount of time in Irvine, and I cannot think of one memorable aspect of Irvine other than every housing unit was the same color, which is why I'm asking for design help. The only thing I request is no surf boards lol.

Thanks everyone for their assistance in advance, I've really enjoyed these first 6 months on PCF.

-Tim

Also just catching up on the OP - so sorry for your loss
It's absolutely great your son is involved and you two are able to bond over a hobby that both of you can be passionate about.
Really looking forward to seeing how this one turns out, I'll be coming back to this thread to see how things develop and if there's any contributions I can make!

 

[FordPickup92]

You’re welcome hahaha

Thank you!

 

[chipinla]

Jimmy Irvine’s Poker Ranch could be a fun name. Lots of interesting history in Irvine to play off of.

 

[TheOffalo]

Super quick concept mockup:

 

[TheOffalo]

Hmm can’t edit posts in classifieds. How about the above concept but “Happy Trails” and make it mildly western themed (goes well with poker and being out in the wilderness and frontier and hiking, maybe that’s a bit of a stretch)

 

[Gorbash]

Sorry for your loss, and double sorry for your son's loss.

I definitely think you could work each of his favourite things to do with him mum into the inlays and even the chio colours. The beach for example would be the perfect $5 and hikes could be a frac maybe? I don't think there is any real standard for frac colours in Cali? And you could do some sort of chequered flag hundo with a third colour to match his kart or something.

And then as @wonderpuddle said you could just put Irvine, Cali on the inlay. That would be a really nice way for him to remember his mum.

Best of luck.

That's a really interesting thought having different inlays on different chips, I'll have to think that one over.

 

[Gorbash]

Super quick concept mockup:

View attachment 885615

This one catches my eye and I really like the concept

 

[JeepologyOffroad]

While I like the idea of a contest, I think for a meaningful and important concept like this you will have a better end result spending extra time talking with a single designer.

 

[Benjaminotaur]

I’m sorry to hear about your loss. I’m sure your son will cherish this when the time comes.

As for design, I think there’s a great opportunity for a silhouette design. I’m not an artist, so I won’t be able to mock anything up, but I can provide some reference photos!

It sounds like the sycamore tree is relatively prominent within the community. Since he spent so many of his formative years in Irvine, laying roots, having a silhouette of a sycamore tree and root system exposed. The roots could wrap around into a circle underneath the tree that would feature the denomination.

Another feature is the Balloon Park, featuring a very unique hot air balloon, which would be recognizable as a silhouette. The balloon could be floating in the sky to the right or left of the tree.

So you’ve got landmarks in Irvine that both represent his early years being rooted in the city, as well as representation of how his experiences in his formative years with his mom can help take him anywhere.

Text above or below could read (Insert clever casino name) Irvine, CA.

Images below give some ideas for the real life representation. A (very) rough sketch should help clear up anywhere my explanation isn’t sufficient. I’m sure a real artist could do much more justice to it!

 

[Daniel Albarran]

Touching story Tim. I'll see what I can come up with, I happen to be a graphic designer.

 

[Perthmike]

That's a really interesting thought having different inlays on different chips, I'll have to think that one over.

Closest pic I have of one a set I did myself with mixed inlays (and molds) is this mixed set. All are relabeled except for the Dunes.

Now I was going for a mixed set so each inlay is totally different, except for layout and denom colours, but I felt they tied in well enough to work as a set. But yours could be much more closely aligned, but with a different image for each, so it could definitely work.

 

[stebosaurus]

My girlfriend went to school in Irvine and came up with this rough sketch. It’s based on the Quail Hill hiking trail.

This is a simple concept that can be modified to your liking (e.g. change font, colors, etc.)

 

[Samuel]

Two quick pesos worth of ideas for an inlay design:

1. A photo of him and his mom (maybe head shots, or hiking on a trail, or at a scenic lookout) with "Irvine CA" along the bottom arc
2. let him draw a picture to be used as the inlay design - maybe of him and his mom and/or what Irvine means to him with "Irvine CA" along the bottom arc

 

[Nuhockey]

So sorry for you and your son's loss. I'm from Jersey, but I've been to Irvine a few times. My Uncle and his family used to live in Huntington Beach. I lived with them for one summer in high school. He now lives in Tustin which I think borders Irvine or is really close. I have a 9YO son who just turned 9, but is not into Poker. I think it is great your son is into it and you can share poker with him.

For the inlay design I think it should be a different for each denomination. Maybe one design have the Ferris Wheel in Irvine, one have the Merry Go Round or Orange Balloon, one have one of the Mountain's in Irvine that your ex wife liked to hike, maybe one with a Bird or some animal from the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary, or maybe one with an Anteater for UC Irvine, and lastly I saw someone post about Go Karts maybe a image of a go cart. Each different image design can be on one side of each denomination while on the other side you can have a consistent design of the Casino or Theme name and an image representing something for your Son and Ex-Wife.

 

[TricycleClub]

@riseupdesignstudio