Interviews with Topys Topys

Grand Interview

22 October 2025 · Pattern Play Playing Cards Calendar

Launched at the end of 2022, this calendar welcomes the new year with a wish: whether you seek a kaleidoscopic life or aim to rewrite the rules, may you start with a good hand and a calendar that foreshadows good fortune.

Through constant experimentation and playful exploration of abstract, meaningful patterns, we reapproached the everyday with a renewed curiosity for beautiful living. Shaped by creativity and imagination, we created a textured and delightful surprise object. This time, by merging playing cards and a monthly calendar, we infused daily life with vivid color, sparking joy in the mundane and offering a poetic, aesthetic experience.

The material of the cards largely determines their durability. Beyond practical considerations, we also pay close attention to the color performance of spot printing, as color plays a crucial role in this project.

For this edition of PatternPlay, we created 54 unique illustrations—one for each card face. From these, 12 were carefully selected, enlarged with high precision, and printed using two specialty colors to accompany each month of the coming year. Thus, the PatternPlay 2023 calendar was born: a way to light up everyday scenery with art.

We hoped to break free from the usual design constraints, letting points, lines, shapes, and colors take center stage—drawing with intuition and unleashing boundless imagination. At the same time, we aimed for high quality, eye-catching aesthetics, and a solid conceptual brief. A good hand can play out in countless ways depending on who’s holding it—beyond gaming, it could also resemble tarot readings or home accents.

Each month features a witty “highlight phrase” as a hidden gem, curated by the editor to match the illustrated scenes or the cultural mood associated with that time of year.

Creativity often arises from everyday life—whether it’s the entryway we pass through each morning, the blank wall we glimpse before sleep, or the workspace where we seek focus and energy. In all these moments, life calls for the ritualistic spirit of creativity—something that can awaken vitality, soothe discouragement, and open up new possibilities.

Each card functions differently, inviting interpretation. Their vivid colors make them ideal as decorative objects, while the tarot-like dimension is built through visual cues—designed to encourage intuitive connections between color, shape, and meaning.

We prioritized durability and color performance in our research—selecting materials that last and spot colors that stay vibrant, as both texture and color are core to the calendar’s experience.

Launched in 2016, “Designing the Unknown” is a TOPYS initiative that reimagines the potential of everyday objects through experimental, forward-thinking design. This project showcases our bold approach to color and pattern, which has been warmly received by our audience. Moving forward, we plan to further explore these two elements in our future creations.

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Interviews with Topys Topys

Grand Interview

Your innovative fusion of playing cards and calendar in Pattern Play Playing Cards Calendar beautifully addresses pandemic-era isolation - could you elaborate on how this dual-purpose design evolved to meet both entertainment and decorative needs?

The bold color choices and organic patterns in Pattern Play Playing Cards Calendar seem to radiate positivity - what inspired your specific aesthetic decisions for each of the 54 unique illustrations, particularly for the kaleidoscope-inspired court cards?

As the Bronze A' Design Award winner in Graphics and Visual Communication, how did Pattern Play Playing Cards Calendar's technical specifications - from the 310 gsm black core card to the matte finish - contribute to achieving both visual impact and practical durability?

The transformation of Pattern Play Playing Cards Calendar's illustrations into monthly calendar artwork creates an intriguing visual narrative - could you walk us through the process of selecting and adapting these designs for different formats?

In developing Pattern Play Playing Cards Calendar, how did your team balance maintaining traditional playing card functionality while breaking away from conventional suits and symbols to create something entirely original?

The one-liners paired with each month's artwork in Pattern Play Playing Cards Calendar add another layer of meaning - what was the collaborative process between illustrators and editors in crafting these messages?

Given Pattern Play Playing Cards Calendar's mission to inject positivity into daily life, how did you approach the challenge of creating designs that would remain engaging and uplifting through repeated daily viewing?

The versatility of Pattern Play Playing Cards Calendar - functioning as cards, potential tarot deck, bookmarks, and wall art - is remarkable. How did this multi-functional approach influence your design decisions throughout the development process?

Could you share insights into how your extensive research into playing card manufacturing and materials ultimately shaped the final execution of Pattern Play Playing Cards Calendar?

Looking ahead, how do you envision Pattern Play Playing Cards Calendar influencing future projects in your Design For You series, particularly in terms of reimagining everyday objects?

Good Design Deserves Great Recognition