From the Pedro Binder

2003 UD Classic Portraits

I’m going back and forth on this one.

I’ll always say I prefer as much of the card to be picture as possible. This certainly doesn’t meet that desire. Not even close. But, understanding that variety is the spice of live, if you’re going to have a small posed shot, this isn’t a bad way to go about it. It’s a nice studio shot, and definitely shows off Pedro’s personality as well as any picture could. I like how the border gives the illusion of the picture being framed. Perhaps in granite? But the border around the picture definitely gives depth to the card.

My one problem? That foil plaque. What is that thing? Now, I understand. When you go to an art gallery, there are informational plaques that go along with all of the portraits. But, I’m pretty sure most of those are readable. This one? Not so much. Sure, it has all the information right there, but did they have to make it all embossed foil? Wouldn’t it have simply been printed? If you want to make it look like a fancy wall hanging, fine. But get rid of the foil!

I’m also confused by the headshot in the middle. I don’t have any other cards from this set, so I don’t know if it’s supposed to replicate Pedro’s picture or not. It’s pretty close, but not really close enough. In fact, it’s close enough that it’s a failure either way. If it’s a generic headshot, it’s clumsy and unnecessary. If it’s supposed to be a replication of Pedro, it didn’t come close enough. So, just bad either way.

In the end, I think the plaque is so bad, it’s good. Because you can’t read anything, it doesn’t detract from the overall card. So, I can simply focus on the fantastic picture of Pedro.

Which is really the point of any card.