Life is an Unpredictable Game

I created the graphic design of the poster as part of an international competition project entitled To Death with a Smile for the Museo Mexicano del Diseño. I further developed this idea and added the slogan Life is an Unpredictable Game.

Life is an unpredictable game where no one knows the score that fate will prepare. The card we hold that seemingly brings a win can quickly turn unfavorable. The work thus draws inspiration from the traditional design of a maria set, where higher values are represented by a characteristic opposing element called twins.

In the concept, the king is depicted as a figure split in half lengthwise and mirror-multiplied. I replace the head of one of the twins with a skull and turn the attributes familiar to a typical ruler (hand, gems, money and sword) into symbols associated with death. The letters have been further modified. Here it is worth noting that the “K” (king) on the opposite pole of the card has finally acquired the designation “D” (death).

In this way, I wanted to express that life can resemble a king at one moment, but at other times it can also turn into a skeleton. In the same way, people’s situations can take a turn for the better or for the worse, quite unexpectedly. Life thus resembles a game in which the cards can be switched at any moment.