UPDATE: (November 8, 2016) – You can download the entire, uncut “Woman Card” Deck for free, with the option to add a small donation to one of five organizations the founders selected that work to create equal rights for women all over the world. You can also purchase a Deluxe Printed Deck, which is on sale today for Election Day.
“The only thing she’s got going is the woman’s card.” Since making this comment about Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in late April, presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump’s words have continued to reverberate within the U.S. and around the world, eliciting lots of conversation and chatter. But Maddy Kramer, a Kansas City based advertising art director, didn’t want to just talk about what he said, she wanted to do something about it. So she rallied other designers and illustrators from around the globe to collaborate with her on the Woman Card Project, a deck of cards featuring important women… and one obvious joker.
The deck is made up of “Yas queens,” which is Maddy and her collaborators’ colloquial way of describing women “who have and continue to spark change around the world regardless of their gender.” To that end, the card suits are all queen, an intentional statement to reflect the partners’ collective belief “that every person who contributes to society and makes things better for other people is a queen.” The goal of the deck is to “turn negatives into positives by calling out damaging gender stereotypes”.
“Mr. Trump: Here are a few other woman’s cards. Each one of them more relevant than the next.” – The Woman Card Project
To get this inspired project off the ground, Maddy created a Google doc with a preliminary list of names of “culturally notable women.” She then invited others to participate using social networks and by reaching out to former colleagues and classmates who support gender equality. That was all it took for the group to form and quickly grow to include “28 designers and illustrators located everywhere from New York to London to Spain to Kramer’s native Argentina,” as Adweek reported. Concurrently, the list of card candidates also grew to include women from all over the world, representing a multitude of professional fields and industries.
There are currently 27 card designs featured on the Woman Card Project site, each by a different illustrator and designed in their own style and with their own vision of the woman being represented. Maddy told Adweek, “And everyone has their own view politically. I don’t know who they are voting for and many don’t even live in the States. It’s more about what we believe.”
Lead image features the following Woman Card Project cards: Frida Kahlo By Nicole Martinez, Hedy Lamarr By Jennifer Ortiz, Serena Williams By Celeste Dalairac
Indra Devi By Juan Pedro Gonzalez
Woman Who Helped Bring Yoga to the West.
Rosa Parks By Andy McLeod
African American civil rights activist, whom the United States Congress called “the first lady of civil rights” and “the mother of the freedom movement”.
Emma Watson By Gabrielle Hoggett
British actress, model, and activist, and UN Women Goodwill Ambassador. She helped launch the UN Women campaign HeForShe, which calls for men to advocate gender equality.
Malala Yousafzai By Ilia Isales
Activist for female education and the youngest-ever Nobel Prize laureate. She is known mainly for human rights advocacy for education and for women in her native Swat Valley in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of northwest Pakistan, where the local Taliban had at times banned girls from attending school. Yousafzai’s advocacy has since grown into an international movement.
Tina Fey & Amy Poehler By Marta Vega
Comedians, directors, producers, writers, and voice actresses. Cast members on Saturday Night Live, co-anchors of SNL’s Weekend Update and Golden Globe winners.
The deck, of course, includes a joker… Donald J. Drumpf By Mireia Córcoles