Deck of Duality

Illustration & Product Design

The world is full of dualities, life and death, light and dark, love and indifference. This project captures the dualities of the world into a functional card deck through high-contrast, gestalt-inspired illustrations. Function and beauty are combined in this artful card deck.

Shuffle the deck

The Making of Untitled

The Challenge

Duality is all around us, existing in a dynamic balance. Capturing this balance with simple gestalt imagery was the challenge of this deck.

Six cards of any suit were required:

King
Jack
Queen
Ace
Joker
Any number

The Process

Gestalt principles were applied to imply shapes and relationships. For example, the king in his throne is not outlined, but his position is clear. Sun and moon motifs also play a key role, decorating the back of the deck, and using the idea of light and dark to reinforce the theme. The deck was conceptualized on paper, then designed in Adobe Illustrator.

The Solution

Each facing card represents a different duality. For example, the Ace represents life and death, using an urn for the vase of flowers, that is broken and dying in the reflection. The entire deck was designed in black and white to further enhance the overall concept.

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