There are those of us who used to turn on the news and say, ‘What fresh Hell is this?’ Today, many don’t watch the news at all, in large part due to the proportion of news coverage surrounding US President Donald Trump. If you’re one of them, designer Graham Johnson knows exactly how you feel, and he’s responded by creating a new card game called Trumpy Trump. You can tell where this is going…
“He and his kind rule the world at the moment. You’ve got to do something, right?” says Graham. “I can’t be a full-time activist, but I can put this game out there. I hope I’m not pouring petrol on family arguments this Christmas… Not true, maybe that’s exactly what I’m doing!”
It works a little bit like this. Each card focuses on a notable event from Donald Trump’s political career, such as his time on The Apprentice or moments that have been widely covered in the media, such as the hush-money case. Along with an illustration of the President to represent that moment, there are ratings for different characteristics as interpreted by the creator – sexism, racism, narcissism, arrogance and dishonesty. There’s also a little text around the edge, literally outlining its significance.
Following the well-known trump card game mechanic, when a card is played, a characteristic is chosen, opponents compare the numbers, and the one with the highest rating in that category snaffles up both cards. The winner is the person who ends up with the entire deck, and their reward is to look at all Graham’s artwork poking fun at the President.
“I wanted to portray the president as fairly as possible,” says Graham. “I colour-sampled his orange skin from photographs, studied his over-hanging hair quiff from footage and made sure I represented all his smug, self-congratulatory expressions. I don’t want MAGA people saying I have misrepresented him.”
In each illustration, Trump is satirised in a form reminiscent of political cartoons. There’s the air of caricature that you’d expect, along with a vintage matchbox look mixed with the bold geometric forms of vector graphics. “I can’t say any one card was harder than the others, but there were plenty of times when I had to stop working on it for a while,” adds Graham. And he doesn’t hold back in his personal view: “Researching made me angry. The depth of the man’s callousness, his total narcissism. F*ck. I’m starting again.”
Trumpy Trumps joins an inventory of offbeat items and books found in Graham’s online shop, Elsewhere Trading Co. For 25 years, his Invisible Jim – a bubble pack with no toy – has been selling well. Along with Rob Hibbert, he has created Images You Should Not Masturbate To, the Rejected Book cover notebooks, and the Santa Is No Red range of cards and wrapping paper, which is doing well in the run-up to Christmas.
Now based in Gloucestershire, Graham is setting up a studio following his 30-year career in advertising with the likes of M&C Saatchi in Sydney and Melbourne, and his own agency, Extension 77, with Oliver Devaris. His aim now is to make work that amuses himself and offends those who need offending, while making a living doing it.
