Illustrator, Typography
Inspired by Fleisch Wolf, a modified blackletter font designed by German-born Joachim Muller-Lance, I crafted these medieval-style playing cards. This was my first time working with type and understanding it as a shape rather than legible words.
Due to the strict angles of Fleisch Wolf, I used the letters like puzzle pieces, literally building the card names (king, two, five, etc.) into a central design. Corner numbers allow for playability and the color palette is German-inspired. While the deck suits (Knight, Tome, Goblet, Swords) were influenced by special glyphs in the font, I used the original suit names (Hearts, Diamonds, Spades, Clubs) to create the pattern for the card backs and box. German inspiration also influenced the Ace cards, which use the German translation for “one” (einer) for the central design.
Tracing paper was my best friend on this one. After getting frustrated with all my ideas, I printed a sheet with all the glyphs for Fleisch Wolf and traced letters in the hopes of finding something. The 45 degree angle of the letter terminals were key as I realized I could connect words like bricks in a building. Every design was done on paper before I moved to Illustrator.
Further edits are being made as the cards need more of an outer margin, the type on the box needs to be set, and the text boxes need to be integrated more. As a whole though, this project is one of my favorites because of the use of blackletter type, the interesting constructions, and the color scheme.
