Tarot Series
Personal Symbolic Poster Series
Tarot Series is a five-piece poster series created for an art class focused on developing a cohesive set of personal abstract symbols. The project reimagines a traditional tarot card spread as a self-reading, using simplified glyph-like imagery to represent my past, present, and future through visual storytelling rather than literal illustration.
Concept & Research
Inspired by my interest in astrology, celestial themes, and spiritual symbolism, I chose to interpret the assignment through the lens of tarot card design. Tarot imagery traditionally communicates meaning through layered symbolism and narrative composition, making it an ideal framework for a project centered on visual interpretation.
Rather than relying on recognizable figures or scenes, I pushed the concept toward abstraction by reducing each card to essential shapes, patterns, and symbolic forms. This approach tested how much meaning could be communicated through visual language alone, allowing viewers to interpret the imagery intuitively, much like reading an unfamiliar deck.
The five-card spread tells a personal story of creative transition from music to graphic design. The selected cards represent emotional struggle, change, hope, and future stability, forming a symbolic timeline of where I came from, where I am now, and what I aspire toward.
Design & Process
I began the project with freeform sketching, creating spontaneous shapes and doodles that evolved into glyph-like symbols inspired by the traditional tarot suits: Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles. I researched tarot meanings and selected one Major Arcana card and four Minor Arcana cards that best aligned with the narrative I wanted to tell.
Each card was designed as part of a unified system, with consistent borders, pattern density, and visual rhythm to maintain cohesion across the series. The final set includes:
– Nine of Swords (past anxiety and internal struggle)
– Two of Wands (creative redirection)
– The Star (present hope and renewal)
– Ace of Pentacles (future stability and career growth)
– Three of Cups (future celebration and fulfillment)
The project was completed within a two-week timeline for class critique and produced as digitally printed posters.
Tools: Procreate
Role: Concept development, symbolic system design, illustration
Workflow: Exploratory sketching, symbolic refinement, pattern development, series cohesion testing, final print production
Exhibition & Outcome
The series was presented during a class critique, where both peers and the professor responded positively to its graphic design-driven approach to illustration and its cohesive symbolic language. Several viewers photographed the work, noting its clarity of visual storytelling despite its abstract nature.
As one of my early graphic design projects, this series reinforced my ability to think systemically and narratively, even within an open-ended art assignment. It strengthened my skills in pattern creation, visual hierarchy, and designing for cohesion across multiple pieces, while deepening my interest in symbolic storytelling and conceptual illustration.
