Kristy's Gallery

Playing Card Design

This playing card is designed by Fang Chen from China who is a professor of graphic design at Wuhan University of Technology in China and visiting artist at both the Cooper Union School of Art in New York and the University of Texas in Austin. I found this design in World Graphic Design by Geoffrey Caban.

Fang Chen has written extensively about graphic design and design education, including a series of books enttled 'The World Masters' showcasing international designers. He is also a recipient of many international awards including 4 gold medals in design competition in Asia, Europe and USA.

The card is inspired by the cards of heroes of the water margin chronicles by the seventeenth century painter Lao-Lian Chen. It is based on a principle of illusion that would be an extension of the double-ended western pattern: the heads of each subject are derived from chinese history or mythology and the key feature of the design is the illustration of two moods for each subject.

The king is a portrait of Gong Ming Zhao who was known as the spirit of wealth and reportedly was able to summon thunder and lightning, eradicate evil and epidemics, uphold justice and deliver riches.

Fang Chen said, "The idea is the soul of graphic design and the creation of the idea is the result of cumulative knowledge and broad artistic immersion. With regard to poster design, I think that explaining the profound in simple terms is very important."

What I like about the design is the uniqueness of it and the choice of color. It is a playing card and everybody knows how a playing card looks like. Analyzing the design using the design principle, it is unified by continuation and some repetition of the heart shapes. It's asymmetrical balance and the emphasis is on the picture of the head. There are some lines on the picture that can be considered as legato rhythm.

posted by Kristy Kusuma @ 10:16 PM