Formafantasma design Vienna's new souvenir

Tuesday 6 November 2012

Vienna Playing Cards by Studio Formafantasma




In collaboration with European Home Run, the Vienna Tourist Board recently held a design competition to create a new souvenir of Vienna: a 3D product that incorporates Vienna's contemporary side as a creative city, as seen through the eyes of other Europeans. Product designers from six different European nations were invited to capture their view of Vienna from the outside.

The winner of the competition is Italian studio Formafantasma, who created a special set of playing cards for the contest.


Pop-up Vienna by Héctor Serrano


Participating designers included DING3000 (Germany), BIG GAME (Switzerland), Ionna Vautrin (France), Héctor Serrano (Spain) and PearsonLloyd (UK).

Doily Postcard by Ionna Vautrin


The jury says of its choice: "A deck of cards is something that is both useful and desirable. Studio Formafantasma's deck reflects their values as designers, and the culture and history of Vienna, in an unusually intelligent and sophisticated design exercise. They have reinvented something which has been used for centuries in Vienna's coffee houses. The symbolism on the cards presents a rich and nuanced portrait of the city and its history. Even if you do not understand the symbolism, the cards look so beautiful and intriguing that you will still want to own and use them”.

Flowers from Vienna by DING 3000


The intention of the jury was to choose a design winner by investigating a range of aspects: the person (designer and customer), the idea, the product, the emotional process and the design aspect. Taking all of these factors into consideration, Formafantasma's deck of cards achieved the most points.

Spin music box by BIG-GAME

Confluence of Ideas by PearsonLloyd