Book of 100 - Statement of Intent

Focus: The general idea of this brief through the eyes of yours truly is how to document a collective of 100 joker cards in an interesting and visually engaging manner. Just how this will be done? Well, I'm not 100% on that yet. I'm really feeling the whole reverse pattern vibe and what sort of content is portrayed through the main 'joker' character itself. Countries of origin are also of interest as a variation of sizes have become increasingly apparent, as have shape and historical reference information. Perhaps an insight on how various organisations tend to advertise on the joker card could be of some interest? We shall see... Hopefully I can devise a more obscure and complex way forward with this brief. MUST.THINK.OUTSIDE.THE.BOX.

Research: At the time of detailing this post of intent, I currently have in my possession a vast array of 100 joker cards from all over the world. Origins include America, Spain, Egypt, China, Hong Kong, Britain and Japan to name but a few. I also have 24 extras, but that's besides the point. From these I have tried to systematically categorise them in many different ways. Size, shape, number of sides, the amount of text, the amount of imagery, how many actually state the word 'joker', how many advertise somewhere within the design, what the primary colour of the reverse is, etc etc. You name it I have pretty much been there. Where to go from here however? Possibly a few variations of designs from my own creative fingertips and a neatly arranged selection of illustrations would be a good way in which to continue from this point onwards. I would also be keen to somehow use the cards as a prop within a studio based photo shoot; the idea of a 100 card pickup is something I think could really work well. Hopefully it could be humorous too? Ideally I'd aim to get down to the very nitty-gritty details of the cards themselves. I believe that some uncommon yet slightly mundane information may serve as a good point of interest if portrayed in an effective manner visually.

Process: Returning to my favourite method of illustration, I'd most like to work within the realms of collage in order to produce a series of my own designs. This is as well as looking at pre-existing ones found within contemporary popular culture - i.e Batman: The Dark Knight 72 joker card designs picture gallery. (Special Feature discs are always a winner!) If possible however, a highly geeky representation of facts and statistics through illustrative design would be a challenge I'd be more than willing to take. If this route takes my intentions towards the digital side of design then Adobe Indesign would be a key feature when arranging my documents for print.

Evaluation: In order to evaluate my progress and methods of approach I am a firm believer of group conducted crits that obtain various sources of feedback; each of which I hope to be unique in what they say. This way a varied and particularly organic collection of ideas can be acquired which given an appropriate selection can assist in the development of any given task. My main area of purpose that I aim to evalaute against simply boils down to the fact of 'Does this idea make a simple and relatively dull subject matter interesting?' Although this might prove to be slighlty open ended and very vulnerable to personal points of view, I am confident that a general consensus would and could be recognised from a larger cross section of feedback.