The Dickinson Deck
I'm nearing completion on one of my most challenging projects to date: The Emily Dickinson Oracle. This deck has been in production for nearly a year. I started it last July, and have been slowly making progress on the 60 cards and guidebook. This is the first deck that I've designed to fit in a two-part rigid box, and I'm excited to see the finished project!
Why has this deck been so challenging and taken so long to make? There have been several factors that have tripped me up in what is usually a pretty quick and straightforward design process.
First, I decided to base each card on a specific one of Emily Dickinson’s poems. So it took some time and effort to identify 60 poems that I could use as source material. Then, I had to decide on an overall style and appearance for the cards themselves. At first, I planned to use the same style as the Gatsby Oracle, the Where Alice Went deck, and the Leaves of Grass Oracle, all of which have images and key words or phrases overlaid on actual pages from each authors published works. For Dickinson’s poems, however, this just didn't seem to work. Then I tried to use longer quotes from each poem, in the style of the Nevermore Oracle, but this didn't seem right, either. I also wanted to maintain a period feel, using colors and images that evoked Dickinson’s Victorian era life and style. At first I was using deeply color saturated cards with a flower motif for each card. This started to prove too limiting, so I experimented with an AI text to image generator to create 3D paper flower designs. This still wasn't quite what I was going for. Eventually I decided to select a key word or concept for each poem, but this left me with the challenge of deciding on an overall design motif for the cards.
At this point I went back to the drawing board entirely and actually watched a bit of the 2016 movie about Dickinson’s life, A Quiet Passion. This proved to be the inspiration I needed, and I was struck by the colors, fabrics, and natural elements portrayed in the film. I decided to use four different patterns of lace as the background design, alternating them between the 60 cards. Using the same general concept as the Leaves of Grass Oracle, I selected two organic circle designs and used them as a second layer. On that I placed a misty, smoke like overlay to provide depth and soften the design. I now had a solid base on which to place corresponding images and key words.
Next, I had to figure out a word or concept for each of the 60 poems I had selected. This proved to be harder then I thought, because Dickinson’s work is not only dense and compact, but she repeats the same common themes throughout her work. It was a challenge to select a unique word or concept for each poem, and I spent some time on this step.
Finally, I had a list of 60 key words. The next step was to decide on a font style and determine how the text would appear on the cards. I wanted to keep with the Victorian theme, so I selected a vintage style frame and a font that recalled turn of the century printing technology. I then added the key word to each card.
The final design step was to select an image for each card. I use Canva for my design elements, and it was a lengthy but fun process to select appropriate images for each card. Canva has a feature that automatically sets the color scheme of a design based on a selected element, and I used this feature to create a cohesive color palette for each card. The last step was to create a card back design that tied together the motif of all the card face designs.
Now the designs were done! But the work was far from over, because I wanted this deck to have a 20-page printed guidebook and an even more in depth, extensive PDF guidebook for download. Since each card only has a single word to associate with each poem, I wanted the guidebook to include the full text of each poem along with a brief interpretation of the poem and a suggested three-card oracle spread for each entry. This was an extremely detailed and time-consuming step, and I still need to complete final edits on the PDF guidebook which is over 60 pages long! I had to be much more brief in the printed guidebook, so I limited each entry to the keyword, a couple of lines from each poem, and a single reflection question. And that brings me up to where I currently am in the process.
My remaining tasks include designing the box cover, back, and insert which will hold the cards and booklet. The booklet is almost done, I just need to add some additional intro and information pages. I need to finish editing the comprehensive guidebook. Then the deck will be ready to send to print for a proof copy. After a year of dedicated work, I am very excited to see this project through to completion!
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