People are still talking about that playing card design 'secret'

There are some design 'secrets' that feel like they're never not doing the rounds online, with people discovering every day that the FedEx logo contains a hidden arrow, or the Amazon 'smile' points from A to Z. Here's one that's a little more timeless – but equally as ubiquitous on social media.

One again, a Twitter (sorry, X) user has asked how old users were when they realised the Eight of Diamonds contains a secret number '8' and the answer from many is: today years old. Like all the best optical illusions, the secret is hiding in plain sight.

Indeed, in one of the best uses of negative space we've seen, the white space between the red diamond symbol resembles the number. It may take a while to spot it – but once you do, you'll never be able to unsee it. If you're struggling to make it out, here's a handy visualisation:

Playing card

8 marks the spot (Image credit: Future)

Twitter users were blown away by the revelation, sharing no shortage of GIFs to depict their mind-blown state. 

Some may be still struggling...

So one helpful user has marked it out for you.

We've seen some brilliantly creative card designs over time, from these 13 custom design playing cards to UNO's sleek, minimalistic new deck. But it seems we shouldn't be too quick to forget the iconic design of a standard deck of playing cards – it clearly still has a few tricks up its sleeve. 

If you're looking for more design secrets, this brilliant infographic reveals the hidden messages in over 50 logos. But when it comes to the logo with the most hidden easter eggs, nothing comes close to this unbelievable video game logo.

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Daniel John
Design Editor

Daniel John is Design Editor at Creative Bloq. He reports on the worlds of design, branding and lifestyle tech, and has covered several industry events including Milan Design Week, OFFF Barcelona and Adobe Max in Los Angeles. He has interviewed leaders and designers at brands including Apple, Microsoft and Adobe. Daniel's debut book of short stories and poems was published in 2018, and his comedy newsletter is a Substack Bestseller.