The Brief
As a part of my senior capstone we were given the instructions of, “Choose a topic to research and then create a design based solution.” For this I decided to begin with a general research into witchcraft which I eventually narrowed down into research into tarot cards and their benefits for both skeptics and believers alike.
The Ideation
From my research I discovered a psychological concept referred to as the Barnum effect. This is the phenomenon of someone reading a general statement and thinking it has been specifically tailored to them. My theory was that because each card has an individual meaning in tarot, having cards laid out will cause the subconscious to infer meaning from them and from that apply it to the problems that person is facing. In this way tarot can help people solve issues they face on their own. This theory was supported in my research into people who already read tarot on a regular basis who said it often assists in dealing with what’s bothering them.
After the course of my research I became interested in creating a deck of my own, something that didn’t depend on the classic iconography of the Rider-Waite deck. I wanted to make sure I was able to translate the meaning of each card with my illustrations. I chose to use anatomical and botanical elements with meanings that related to each card using the symbolic language of flowers and the cultural significance we give to certain elements of the body.
Want to purchase a deck?
Please email me at sararenesargent@gmail.com for inquires.
Thank you for your interest!