Je(u) vote: 28 Illustrations for a Civic Game

Je(u) vote cards fanned on a sheet of paper, the cover card in front

The Brief

Je(u) vote ! is a discussion game published in France in 2012 by Guy Trédaniel Éditeur. A boxed set of illustrated cards and a booklet, it asks players to take a social topic in three steps: react, dream, then say what they would actually do.

The cards carry the topics: cooperation, education, mobility, the economy, Europe, the environment. Each picture had to open a conversation without telling anyone what to think.

Three rules

Silhouette. Figures are reduced to silhouettes, so the idea reads before the detail does.

One cool colour per card. Most cards keep a warm ochre and yellow base, with a single cool colour (teal, indigo or green) carrying the theme.

Paper and paint texture. A hand-made surface keeps the clean shapes human, and ready for print.

Sun yellow
#FCC51B

Wheat
#FCDE79

Teal
#1392A5

Indigo
#354781

Leaf green
#7CBE85

Terracotta
#9F5139

From sketch to final

Every card started as a pencil sketch. Move across each one to see how it became the finished card.

Before After

Cooperation

Before After

The city

Before After

Mobility

Before After

Ecology

Before After

Finance

Before After

The cover

The set

28 cards, one visual language.

Eighteen are shown here, one every two seconds, and all of them below.

Je(u) vote cover card: three figures rising from a box marked Je(u) vote, with the words Reagissez, Revez, Realisez — 01

Card illustration: a ring of orange silhouette figures holding a globe against a teal and white ground — 02

Card illustration: a single figure on steps in front of a blue skyline and a suspension bridge — 03

Card illustration: a pedestrian beside a road with a bike lane, a tram, a car, a plane and a ship — 04

Card illustration: a figure operating a machine of gears and linkages on an orange ground — 05

Card illustration: a newspaper seller in front of towers covered with news headlines — 06

Card illustration: a tree made of puzzle pieces on a globe with an elephant, whales and birds — 07

Card illustration: figures with a headset, a phone, a tin-can line and a satellite connected by white lines — 08

Card illustration: two students raising their hands against a blue board — 09

Card illustration: a farmer, wheat, sacks of grain and a cow in layered fields — 10

Card illustration: a figure with a backpack and propeller cap juggling coloured balls — 11

Card illustration: a tree carrying a wind turbine, houses, bottles and cyclists — 12

Card illustration: three figures at a glass ballot box filled with envelopes — 13

Card illustration: an old street hung with Swiss flags — 14

Card illustration: a family seated around a dinner table, each figure a different colour — 15

Card illustration: a figure pouring European national flags into a basket under a ring of stars — 16

Card illustration: a scientist with a laptop, DNA strands and a shark in a tank on a teal ground — 17

Card illustration: towers made of stacked banknotes with figures climbing them and a car below — 18

The rules booklet

A redesign of the game’s rules as a 16-page A5 booklet, in French and English. It carries the cards’ visual language into the explanation: one colour per phase, organic shapes, silhouettes and a paper texture.

Rulebook cover: The rules of the game, with the Je(u) vote box illustration on a yellow ground

Booklet spread: a welcome page with a card illustration, and the In the box page listing theme cards, keyword cards and the companion book

Booklet spread: the setup diagram, and the Three phases page: React, Dream, Realize

Booklet spread: phase one, React, on terracotta, and phase two, Dream, on yellow, each with a card illustration

Booklet spread: phase three, Realize, and the End of round steps

Booklet spread: the spirit page, Listen, Debate, Propose, and a six-step cheat sheet

Booklet spread: two worksheets, My micro-program and Our proposals

Booklet spread: a preview grid of the illustrated cards, and the credits page

Rulebook back cover on indigo: React, Dream, Realize, with sun, moon and star motifs

The design system

The booklet rests on a six-page design system: palette, principles, type, grid and texture rules, with a short do and do not list, so any added page or translation stays consistent with the cards.

Design system cover and the palette page: six core colours with paper, cream and ink neutrals

Design system pages: three principles (silhouette, one cool colour per card, paper and paint texture) and the typography

Design system pages: the A5 grid and parts, and the texture rules with do and do not lists

On the table

The cards as a boxed set, and the booklet beside them.

Mockup of the Je(u) vote box with the lid lifted beside cards on a wooden table

Open rulebook on a wooden table beside the game box, showing the Realize phase page and the End of round page, with cards fanned out nearby

Credits

Je(u) vote ! Published by Guy Trédaniel Éditeur, 2012.
Illustrations: Nacer Ayad. 28 cards, one visual language.
Rulebook redesign and design system: Nacer Ayad.