Project | Themed Playing Cards
Class | Survey of Media and Design
Instructor | Chris Williams

This has absolutely been one of my favorite projects this quarter. The assignment challenged me in illustration, an area where I don’t usually feel very confident.

The theme that I choose to give our beloved deck is the four main personality types. I first learned them by the acronymn DISC; hence, the design for the back of the cards. Basically, the four types come from combinations of two variants: pace and priority. People can be fast-paced or slow-paced, people-oriented or task-oriented. I assigned a personality type to each suit and tried to show how that personality would create the card. In other words, the meaning is in the medium.

♣ King of Clubs = fast-paced, task-oriented. The “D.” Thanks to a rubber stamp, his job is done, and he’s happy about it. Efficient and authoritative = a perfect solution. Plus, he really got a thrill from that swift sensation of ‘making his mark.’

♦ Jack of Diamonds = fast-paced, people-oriented. The “I.” Magazine decoupage reflects enthusiastic, fun-loving nature. He went for this breezy, organic solution and didn’t worry about tying up loose ends (psst: he can’t see them)!

♥ Queen of Hearts = slow-paced, people-oriented. The “S.” This person pulled out her shoebox of art supplies and took all the time necessary to create a gentle and sympathetic portrait of the queen. She may not have stayed perfectly inside the lines, but her concern for people always delivers portrayals full of merry honesty.

♠ Ace of Spades = slow-paced, task-oriented. The “C.” There was no question in her mind about the correct way to make a card; she knew instinctively that the math would make all the details add up right. The only problem was lack of time. If the others had been more patient, they would have been privileged to look upon perfection.

The Joker card required these four to actually collaborate… and you can probably see remnants of the tension. Someone’s gridlines were disregarded, someone else got bored with his assignment and left the scene. And does one size really fit all? …It’s a good thing the peacemaker was there, doing her best to tie it all together!

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Behind all this drama, of course, was just one person and one medium: myself and a handful of Adobe products. This project confirms to me the potential for mimicry through digital illustration. Personally, I can’t get enough.

As much as I tried to step out of myself and disguise it, you can probably tell that I am an analytical “C” of the highest order. Perhaps that’s why I love studying personality so much – in the confusing world of social interaction, systems like this provide me with a plumbline!