Designing the visual identity for the Munich based World Divination Association Virtual Conference, held in May 2020, brought a contemporary look to the ancient art of divination, inspired by both cartomancy and the 1930’s Zener cards.
Zener cards were designed by perceptual psychologist Carl Zener in the 1930’s for experimental research into Extra Sensory Perception and psychic abilities. Zener cards came in a pack of 25 and included 5 cards of 5 different designs; a circle, cross, wave, square and star. The subject was asked to determine which card was being held up without visually seeing it. These cards are still used today, I made myself a set a few years ago, and they are a great way to practice and develop your telepathic and clairvoyant muscles.
These beautifully simple symbols formed the basis of the creative suite which was also designed to reflect the fractal qualities of cartomancy, the art of reading cards, in that whichever way the cards fall within a tableau they will all relate to each other to tell a story.
A fresh and modern colour palette moved away from the mysterious and dark connotations often associated with the world of divination to bring it out of the shadows of it’s past history as a parlour game into a modern day useful tool to find clarity and future direction.
The design of the creative suite allowed for versatility across digital platforms and applications ranging from digital banners, edms, website, speaker profiles, ephemeral stories, social media and calls to action.
The World Divination Association Virtual Conference featured 45 speakers over the course of 48 hours and over 300 attendees, all coming together in a vibrant virtual environment – a welcome offering at the peak of the global pandemic covid lockdowns.
