Afar

Inspired by the two-player card game Lost Cities, I illustrated and designed custom decks as a Christmas gift for my boyfriend. Reflecting on our Indian and Mexican heritage, the decks feature details like Arabic horses and Mexican jaguars. The vibrant colors of Mexico City, flowers representing traits like loyalty and strength, and a central motif of the lotus flower, meaningful in both our cultures, make these decks a tangible expression of our union. The boxes, inspired by our national flags, promise unity, with face cards representing the Queen, King, and "Joining." This project is my love letter, a tangible reminder of how close I feel to him, even when we are afar.

His Indian heritage and my Mexican roots became the thematic thread. Each detail is tailored to emphasizing our individuality coming together to form one. The color palette is borrowed from my hometown of Mexico City, a kaleidoscope of vibrancy and excitement that the city possesses. The Arabic horses, a symbol close to my heart, found their place on the cards to represent my family history, while the jaguars serve as a reminder of strength and transformation in Mexican mythology. The boxes, inspired by our home country flags, became vessels carrying the promise of unity. Which is why the face cards actually represent the Queen, the King, and the “Joining” rather than the Jack.

Flowers revered in both our cultures adorn the cards – dancing between eight different suits, each flower indicating different traits like loyalty, inner strength, family, and celebrations to tradition. However, throughout the brand the lotus flower became the main symbol. Not just because it is one of the most important symbols in several Indian traditions – reflecting the divine perfection we strive for as a couple. But my boyfriend’s name means lotus in Sanskrit.