Why Round Cards? The Design Thinking Behind Navigators™

Why Round Cards?

Most card games use rectangular cards.

When developing Navigators™, a different question emerged early in the design process:

What card shape best supports the experience we want players to have?

The answer was not automatically a rectangle.

Instead, the project evolved towards a distinctive round card format that has become one of the defining features of the Navigators series.

Designing Around the Theme

The Navigators series is built around exploration, discovery and comparison.

Many of the themes within the range are connected to the natural world, geography and global exploration. A circular card immediately creates visual associations with concepts such as:

• The Earth
• Planets
• Navigation
• Compasses
• Natural cycles

The shape helps reinforce the identity of the product before a player even begins the game.

Standing Out From Traditional Card Games

Product design is often about making deliberate choices rather than simply following convention.

Standard playing cards are effective, but they are also familiar. A round format immediately creates a different visual impression and helps the product stand apart from many traditional card-based games.

Distinctive products are often easier to remember, easier to recognise and more likely to encourage curiosity.

Supporting Gameplay

The shape also influences how players interact with the cards.

Round cards can be spread, stacked and rotated naturally during play. They encourage a slightly different handling experience compared with rectangular cards and contribute to the overall feel of the product.

Small design decisions can have a surprisingly large impact on how a product is perceived and enjoyed.

Packaging Considerations

Product development involves balancing appearance, usability and manufacturing.

The circular format led directly to the development of a cylindrical storage tube that complements the cards. The packaging creates a compact and distinctive presentation while helping protect the contents during storage and transport.

Designing the cards and packaging together allowed the product to develop as a complete system rather than as separate components.

Design Is About Intentional Decisions

Every design choice involves trade-offs.

Round cards require different manufacturing processes and present different design challenges compared with traditional card formats. However, they also provide a unique identity and help reinforce the themes that sit at the heart of the Navigators series.

The goal was never to be different for the sake of being different.

The goal was to create a product where the shape, gameplay, packaging and overall experience work together to support the idea of exploration and discovery.

Looking Ahead

As the Navigators range grows, the round card format will remain a core part of the product identity.

Sometimes the smallest design decisions become the most recognisable features of a product.

In this case, choosing a circle helped shape far more than just the cards themselves.