Publication Design
Ke ʻAlā Ke Akua — Goddess Oracle Cards for Mayumi Oda
Ke ʻAlā Ke Akua — Goddess Oracle Cards for Mayumi Oda
Overview: Full-scope design and production for a bilingual oracle deck by Mayumi Oda — painter, activist, and one of the most celebrated Japanese artists of her generation. The project required holding her hand-painted goddess figures with complete fidelity while building a design system rigorous enough to carry 65 cards, a 120-page guidebook, and a gold foil gift box into print as a unified collector object.
Approach: Oda's paintings don't translate — they have to be honored. Every typographic and layout decision was made in service of the imagery: a bilingual hierarchy that gives English and Japanese equal visual weight, card layouts that frame each goddess without competing with her, and a packaging system that signals the spiritual seriousness of the work before it's even opened.
Process: Original artwork was vectorized for gold foil production, preserving the gestural quality of Oda's line. Typography was developed across three scales — card deck, guidebook interior, and exterior packaging — with a coordinated hierarchy system ensuring consistency at every touchpoint. Print files were prepared and submitted in full coordination with production partner OnTheMark. Publication data was submitted for Library of Congress registration.
Deliverables: 65-card deck design · Original art vectorization · Gold foil production files · Bilingual typesetting (English / Japanese) · Type hierarchy system · Book layout (120 pp.) · Print production coordination · CIP data & ISBN submission (978-0-578-79487-7)