This card deck design, themed around ants, is far from ordinary. It holds brilli-ant illustrations infused with humour, making it truly exceptional and memorable.
Objective
To develop and design a set of nine playing cards, the numbers 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace, the Joker, and the back card design. The cards required two spot colours, and face cards had to be symmetrical from top to bottom. The challenge was to use negative and positive space effectively while applying a historical design era, a unified look and communicating the message and theme of the cards.
Ant Poker Cards tossed up
Joker Ant card
King Ant card
#10, back design, and Queen Ant cards
Process
I created a cute and comical theme featuring black ants, utilizing red and black as my two spot colors, and incorporating a subtle Victorian feel. Inspired by poker card design, I sketched various ant concepts and fell in love with the Joker illustration because it was carefully illustrated juggling a ball, timbrel, and hula hoop to emphasize its playful nature.
Utilizing Adobe Illustrator, I transformed my sketches into precise vectors, ensuring design accuracy. To make it more human-like and reflect historical styles, I gave the Queen ant eyelashes, depicted the King with a grimmer expression and staff to signify hierarchy, and designed the Jack to be smaller, holding a spear and scroll. For the Ace ant workers, I created a distinctive ‘A’ design, and for the corners of the cards, I incorporated a Victorian-style leaf motif, aligning with the ant and nature theme. The back card design features a bustling colony of black and red ants, contributing to the overall whimsical and nature-inspired aesthetic.
Throughout the creative journey, my goal was to achieve a design that seamlessly balanced cleanliness, minimalism, and boldness. Every decision was guided by the pursuit of a visually striking yet straightforward aesthetic. The clean lines in the design serve to enhance the boldness of the overall design, creating an eye-catching and minimalistic deck that captures the comical ant theme.
Medium/Tools Used
Adobe Illustrator
Layout of Ant Card Deck
