Custom Magic the Gathering
Card Sleeves
My Role:
Lead Graphic Designer and
Production Coordinator
Objectives:
Create colourful collector card sleeves which fit standard Magic the Gathering cards featuring iconic imagery from Princess Moninoke and Howl’s Moving Castle
Recognizable to the source material but doesn’t look like “traditional merchandise”
Outcomes:
2 sets of 100 sleeves, each branded to their respective Studio Ghibli™ film.
When the client shared the final product within the collectors Facebook group, it received over 2000 reactions.
Design Process:
After meeting with the client and discussing their wants from the commission, illustration sketches and concepts began. We quickly leaned into a minimalist illustration style which highlighted the key elements and characters of each film, in recognizable shapes and colours that fans would love. After a couple of renditions, we settled on the two final illustrations which would be manufactured.
We made connections with manufacturers which specialize in custom sleeves for trading card games, and organized printing and manufacturing. Through these connections we fine tuned colours and printed an end product the client would be excited by and would withstand constant play.