Transforming Luck with Innovative LED-Enhanced Card Designs
Project overview
In today's society, more people turn to religious methods like fortune-telling and praying for luck. However, this trend can lead to passivity and dependence on external factors. Our vision is to empower individuals to actively shape their lives, moving away from reliance on luck. Through the project, we want participants to be creators, not just observers, of their destinies.
Duration
3 months: 2023 Sep. - 2023 Nov.
User
Community household ; vehicle owners
My Role
UX Designer , UX Researcher
Product Designer
Challenge
How to make the product combine both entertainment and the function of motivating users to progress towards their goals?
We found that people tend to seek good outcomes by relying on fortune-telling instead of putting in effort. Meanwile,the ritual of divination can bring a sense of anticipation and mystery to people. So we wondered how can we combine the two positive parts together.
Approach
Figure out how fortune-telling works
My typical approach to finding out why fortune-telling works is by observing people around me who chant Buddhist scriptures. I noticed that while chanting, they also draw on talisman paper, which is a process of transferring their intangible prayers onto the talisman. The drawings on talisman paper can be considered a ritualistic act, representing the wishes, blessings, prayers, or expressions of gratitude of individuals or groups. This process gave me a lot of inspiration.
Design
Use lights to help change the fortune
After understanding how fortune-telling works, I thought about using small LED lights combined with conductive materials. This way, it not only retains a certain level of fun but also allows the changing of luck by altering the circuit.
Cover Design
Cover Design
detail Design
interaction process
1.Draw the lots
2.Read the initial fortune
3.Rip the cover
4.”Draw” the lots to solve the puzzle
5.Light off the initial fortune and light up the hoped fortune
Outcome
An interesting card product
My contribution involved designing the overall concept and exploring how to seamlessly integrate these tech-driven elements while maintaining the essence of fortune-telling. I focused on ensuring the product was both visually appealing and engaging, inviting users to interact with fortune in a creative, modern way.
Reflection
A wonderful design experience
During the design phase, I experimented with various materials to test their conductivity, which gave me a feeling of conducting experiments—very interesting! In the end, I successfully created a physical card and tested it, and the results were also successful. This experience deepened my passion for design.
At the same time, I also identified some other areas for improvement:
How might we introduce more complex puzzle to solving elements to encourage participants to think and learn at a deeper level.
How might we introduce more interesting patterns and symbols to inspire creativity and give more symbolic meaning to the cards.
© Yilin Chen 2025. Proudly hand created.