Kickstarter is a great way to fund creative, innovative projects that might not otherwise reach the masses. And while it’s often the cool gadgets that get the spotlight, you can find some great stuff in the Graphic Design category, from posters (those seem to be particularly popular) to games and things like books and playing cards. Below are some of the coolest recent projects in the graphic design category – including two that you can still fund (but hurry, one of them closes later this afternoon). Seen any cool graphic design projects on Kickstarter that you think we should review? Let us know.  

The Beautiful Bicycle Print

Designer: Andy Scullion Status: 158% funded on August 2 Learn more: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/AndyScullion | @wyatt_design Designer and bike devotee Andy Scuillion combines his two great loves with this print. Scuillion understands that bike lovers like him fully appreciate the beauty of a well-illustrated bike. Combine this with the personal touch of seeing your own two-wheeler on a poster, and you have a successful Kickstarter project. By tapping into his backers’ bikes for inspiration, Scuillion guaranteed himself both a built-in audience as well as a diverse assortment of different rides.  

Gods of Mythology Bicycle Playing Cards

Designer: Marci Brinker Status: 41% funded, 14 days to go Learn more: https://www.martianpictures.com/ | @martianpic Unleash your inner nerd with these beautiful custom Bicycle playing cards. The cards are based on Gods & Goddesses from Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Norse mythology, and follow the standard rules of mythological power. The more powerful the God, the more powerful the card. Thunderbolt-wielding Zues, for example, is the king of hearts. The deck owes much to traditional playing card design, but cleverly and smoothly integrates the mythological figures. Designing the deck was a 9-month process for Marci Brinker, who slaved over sketches, mythological research, and Adobe Illustrator design to make sure the cards come out just right. The project still has two weeks to reach its funding goal, so feel free to jump in!  

Philographics: Big ideas in simple shapes

Status: 434% funded on May 23 Designer: Genís Carreras Learn more: https://www.geniscarreras.com/ | @gex00 Genís Carreras’ “visual dictionary of philosophy” explains deep philosophical theories through a simple combination of color and shape. Carreras created 95 designs that visualize theories from aestheticism to vitalism and everything in between. Each print comes with a short description of the theory that is reflected by the accompanying design. The final product comes in two versions – a postcard box with one copy of each design, and a hardcover book, which includes the same designs in a larger format.  

If you’ve ever cracked open one of those heavy, jargon-filled philosophy texts and promptly zoned out, you’ll appreciate what Carreras is doing here. There’s a kind of relief in seeing a dense concept like ‘existentialism’ boiled down to a single sharp graphic—no endless footnotes, no convoluted arguments, just the core idea in a color and a shape. It’s ambitious, sure, but sometimes clarity comes from stripping things back instead of piling on.

There’s a sort of trend with these Kickstarter graphic design projects—not just rehashing what already exists, but really playing around with format and audience. It’s a risky move to go niche, like explaining philosophy with illustrations or mashing up Norse gods with face cards, because there’s always the chance you’ll miss the mark and funders won’t bite. But look at the funding numbers: people respond when a project taps into something personal or overlooked (or maybe just plain interesting). Hard to fake that kind of success.

Los Angeles Freeway Map, Redesigned

Designer: Peter Dunn Status: 587% funded on July 25 Learn more: https://www.stonebrowndesign.com/ Large cities’ subway systems have been visualized and re-visualized ad nauseam, but what about cities without robust public transportation? Peter Dunn of Stonebrown Design looks to change that with his reimagination of the Los Angeles freeway system. Dunn’s poster takes the striking simplicity of the best subway visualizations and applies it to the 31 freeways, 75 interchanges, and 850 exits across the greater LA area.   Jon Salm is an associate client analyst at Millward Brown Digital in New York City and a freelance data journalist in the Visual.ly marketplace. He has a bachelor’s degree in English from Washington and Lee University. You can find him online at about.me/salm.jon and follow him on twitter @S4LM3R. 

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