Souvenir of London

The game has been reviewed by 'Not just a shop', and we are pleased to have found out that our concept card game, 'Capital in Chaos' has been chosen to be officially produced for there stock to be sold. The board who made this decision for our group to be chosen did say however, that there may be 'reduction to the retail price' as well as a few adjustments to the categories 'to offer a more diverse range to broaden the audience. These are some valid points that will find a compromise between us as designers and ' Not just a shop' as a business. Looking back at our process to get, here has been challenging but intriguing to see everything come together nicely. The changes and shifts to the card game are something I look forward to as it becomes something to keep and be sold. A souvenir!

Today, we received the first print of the full deck of cards. To see each of the illutrations physically with the full design on the back is a proud and exciting moment. We believe the box is informative and tells a potential customer who might by this product just what 'Captial in Chaos' is all about. Just laying the cards out on the table to see them together is a satisfying feeling to see this process all come togther. Looking at this demo print, we haven't really noticed anything that has to be changed, however one thing my be that all characters need to have a name + adjective to spur engagement and humour, Instead of just a few a that do. Nonetheless it is a crazy moment to see everything taking shape; possibly creating manageable product.

Thankfully the people at 'It's not just a shop' are very pleased with the progress of the 'Capital in Chaos' Card game and want to go ahead with pushing the idea forward to possibly be in the shop and for sale. This means we were faced with the difficult choice of finding the best company to print the card game that was sustainable but most importantly money efficient. The comapny we found was reasonable and as researched before; was smarter for the classic card box packaging due to a much cheaper price for mass production. We are looking forward to the first proffesional print to be in our hands and believe we can make this work as a final sellable product... A souvenir.

Dealing with this illustration-heavy product that relies on its engagement with the players of the game, more than a 'souvenir' of london; its about focusing on the longetivity of the card game. We need to keep the design interesting, relevant and not offensive. Like mentioned at the beginning of the project, past versions, specifically ones dated back to the early 20th century could be considered prejudice. The 'characature' aspect of our categories need to be funny and articulate but most importantly illustrate that there is a self awareness in our thinking and decision making. So far we believe we have achieved this. The diversity is honest and resembles modern London and the types of people you find, the alliteration of the names ticks that engagement aspect box too. Humour is present especially in categories like the 'Commuters' and 'Hipsters'.

This is the design mockup that visualises the finished product in a bag. However after researching eco-friendly companies and websites that help scale up prices, it won't be cost-efficient. The traditional box that we will now make a move with is not only much cheaper to produce in large quantities, but it is also more recognisable to a shopper that this is a deck of cards. A bag may be too ambiguous. We also looked at the idea of a tin but we were faced with similar issues like the bag.

 With the back of the cards, we wanted to give an idea of Londons landmarks and have reference to the transport but in a way that hasn't been overdone a million times already. So instead made these icons into a larger kind of pattern. The tower bridge mirrored with the logo/title sprawled in between. The group of us believed the design we finished with is the constant of our overall design and how we should base the packaging around. A mockup of what the final print could look like.

So with this set of characters in our newly named  'Capital in Chaos' card game, I felt like this lot needed to be different and have some references to London right now. Grime as a music category is very London based and retains a very cultural background. This group includes: MC MC2 Fanboy 'Hype' man I'm very pleased with these illustrations and enjoy the subtle playfulness in these drawings (which I feel is becoming a trait of mine in my work) unlike the commuter ones, which is more of a given form of humour.

In the entire pack of cards there will be eight groups of four categories. Two of these groups will share the same illustration style. I have chosen to be the face of the 'commuter' pack and also the 'Grime' category.  With my first set I have included: Tired Tony Spacious Sonia Loud Luke Angry Anne Which all share the same sketched style but all include some aspect of humour. Commonly quite angry and frustrated, I find Commuters in general are quite entertaining outside of the 'Rush Hour' frame of mind. All include little details that will provoke more engagement with the characters and the people playing the card game.

Today the prototype of the card game was shown to 'its not just a shop' who may be willing to take on the souvenir. The product so far is a series of mixed illustrations that don't all coincide with one another. However it was suggested it works well for the basis of London and its diversity. The cards box was in the form of a suitcase but this was done unintentionally and actually works with the commuters category that will be one of the groups in the game. The name is possibly 'Chaotic Capital'.

The classic game happy families is our main focus. The original game is pretty outdated and in some instances quite offensive in today's environment. Our drive for this project is something fresh and new that is more of an observation of London today and has quite a contemporary tone of voice. The box could be sustainable recyclable paper with laminated recycled plastic and the card box could fold out to reduce the amount needed to complete the full design. Something nice with resources in mind. The game would be more of something to treasure as well as to enjoy and use to pass time.

Studying the textures of the city, whether thats the patterns on the tube seats, or the signs and pavements. The design of the card could have these colourful arrangements as a homage to the fabrics of the capital. Theres this use thats more than novelty with cards and they have been around for decades, so would be great to put a modern and fresh spin on them.