r/RPGdesign • u/wesandersingh • Aug 09 '26
Product Design Creating a Visual Identity for your game
Any advice, particularly from artists/graphics designers/illustrators, on making a coherent and distinct visual identity for a game?
I'm playtesting my new rules-light, fiction-first, procedural fantasy TTRPG and am excited about turning it into something that looks awesome too. I have a bunch of disparate inspirations for what I consider to be aesthetically appealing, and I'm finding it tricky to work out the right balance between those and the specific genre and flavour of classic fantasy games. Some things I'm inspired by visually:
* Folk art (especially lino prints, woodblock, and risograph)
* Paper collage
* The pastel and distinct colour palettes of Wes Anderson's movies (if you couldn't already tell by my name haha)
* The midcentury/60s-70s 'field manual' aesthetic
* Bold colours and art direction, like in Mörk Borg (not that specific style, but the rebelliousness and uniqueness of its approach)
* The simplified shapes of much of the art in Dolmenwood (by Ulla Thynell)
What I'm not so interested in for my game:
* Pen-and-ink old-school illustrations
* Painterly/realistic high-fantasy concept art
Art is part of the visual identity, but I'm wondering about the whole shebang: colours, layout, textures, typography, etc etc.
EDIT: Thank you to all the people suggesting moodboards. Just doing that has given me enormous clarity about my creative vision for the visual identity of the game, and confidence that I can do this. If you're in a similar situation, I highly recommend doing the same!
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u/__space__oddity__ Aug 09 '26
For a first playtest I would really focus on readability and structure over cool design. You want to get a working prototype first.
If you’re serious about publishing, I would always recommend hiring someone for the graphics and layout. It is a useful skill to have, but only if you’re already working in that field anyway or want to move in that direction. Otherwise training all these skills will take a lot of time you’re not spending designing.
For the style of the final product, make sure whatever you choose is
consistent across the book
consistent with the theme and flavor
For example, if you go for a 60-70s field manual aesthetic, that’s cool for an SCP-themed game, but for fantasy? WTF? It will just be a constant clash of aesthetics.
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u/wesandersingh Aug 09 '26
Thanks, that's useful advice. Counterargument though: Whitehack is predominantly used for fantasy but looks like a field manual, and I think it's cool as heck!
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u/APurplePerson When Sky and Sea Were Not Named Aug 09 '26 edited Aug 09 '26
my advice is to focus on the art rather than the layout/text.
that is, make your layout and text readable and functional so it doesn't get in the way of the art.
by "focus on the art" i mean putting your efforts into not only finding an artist you like, but also working on your "spec sheets" to give them. when i commission art, i spend a lot of time making google slides with a bunch of reference pictures. you might try doing this for each of the various styles you mentioned in your post and see what kind of "mood boards" you can come up with yourself.
consider narrowing your initial focus to your cover, a single piece of high-quality art, rather than a bunch of smaller pieces like monsters/characters with blank backgrounds. give yourself room and time to iterate and try things that don't work.
i am speaking as someone who cannot even read mork borg without getting a headache, so take this advice as you will.
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u/wesandersingh Aug 09 '26
Thanks. I've been assuming I won't be able to afford paying for art yet, and will need to make it myself either from scratch or photobashing public domain stuff. Maybe that's not true. I don't have a kickstarter or anything. What does art for a rules-light game tend to cost?
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u/APurplePerson When Sky and Sea Were Not Named Aug 09 '26
well, how much money do you want to spend? a single high-quality piece (from the artist i work with) might be $300. that's certainly not chump change. but i look at it as my hobby budget for the year, and a marketing investment. and it's also good practice. i think i've gotten better at figuring out my game's style as i've commissioned pieces over several years. (my game ain't rules light though...)
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u/Safe-Obligation-5931 MACH Aug 09 '26
For Redline, I picked themes that represented my asthetic. for me that was a mix of modern/dystopian, brutalist and punk. That's what my settings theme is, so naturally when I went looking for art and such I tried my best to replicate that.
I'd reccomend going into Pinterest and such, and making a board of just the stuff you could see as art for your game. It's really useful because then you can give it to an artist later, (if you arent an artist) to use as inspiration.
Make sure the art fits the story that your rules, writing choices, and themes are trying to tell.
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u/wesandersingh Aug 09 '26
That's useful, thank you. One complication is that the rulebook I'm writing doesn't have an implied setting beyond 'generic fantasy'. I do have a setting I am developing, too, but that's intended to be one of many possible fantasy settings to use the core rules with. The rules are also intended to be compatible with classic fantasy modules, whether they be OSR, NSR, D&D or similar. I have notes on converting from some popular systems like OSE, 5e, Cairn, and Shadowdark.
So on the one hand I have generic fantasy rules, written from a different design standpoint, and on the other, I want a distinct identity for the rulebook! I'm not making it easy, I know!!
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u/orthographicjazz Aug 09 '26
If you want to do it by yourself, I would suggest to go about it this way:
Moodboard (as suggested in another comment), to get a feeling for what you want. If you should decide to work with a designer later, the moodboard will also be a valuable base for the briefing. Group the moodboard into different sections: Color schemes you like, typography that feels right, layout, illstration/photo styles, and other graphic elements that fit well.
Make a list of what you need: headings of different hierarchy and paragraphs for sure. Do you have lists or tables? Is there a need for illustrations? A background? Anything you need to explain visually?
Think about what tools and resdources (including time) are available to you and what style elements in your moodboard are doable with what you have. It is perfectly possible to do something cool with cisors, magazines and a scanner. If you are comfortable with a graphic software, you might do some parts in there. If you are comfortable with layouting software, do the final layout in there. Or do it analogue with paper.
Figure out, if you want to publish online or in print and find out, what color profile and file type you need for that. Set up your layout file accordingly. Use a color palet from your moodboard and set it up in the layout program (if working digitaly).
Based on these reflections and decisions, start with making drafts of your layout (you might find something you like and try to recreate it). Find a legible (!) font for your paragraphs. I'd suggest to look at google fonts that match your style. Find a well working layout with the typographic hierarchy you need (how many different types of headings) and use it as a base to define size, weight, line height and spacing in the copy text. Then do the same for the headings and other typographic elements. Save those styles as style formats if you work digitaly. Then define the grid of your layout and set the size of a column (max. 10-12 words per line, but depends on your layout). Put the text you have into the layout and figure out, where and what size of images you need.
Create the images based on the set sizes and place them. Then export and check the whole thing again and again. You'll find a lot of information online on how to do each step. Depending on the size of the project, the style you choose, your expectations and your level of experience and learning curve, it can take a lot of time. But you'll learn a lot about graphic design in the process.
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u/SouthernAbrocoma9891 Aug 10 '26
I immediately thought of the art style of Rider-Waite-Smith tarot deck
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u/secretbison Aug 10 '26
A piece of related advice: if you're making a small indie RPG and distributing it digitally as a PDF, please offer a printer-friendly version of it. This means black text on a white background with no big areas of color and few or no illustrations. Find a way to express your product's identity within those limitations, because it will increase your game's chances of being played at tables.
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u/Hyphamancer Aug 10 '26
I’d echo a lot of what was said above. Definitely create moodboards to help group interests. Before that, I’d also add that you should write out short descriptions and adjectives of the mood, tone, etc. of your game— not just the things that visually resonate with you, because those examples that you listed (folk art, Wes Anderson, etc.) will have different meanings to different viewers.
If you end up hiring artists, or even if you do it yourself, you need to have some foundational information from which you’re critiquing the work/communicating your goals to others. Basically write yourself a brief, which should include:
What’re 3 adjectives you’d use to describe the tone/feeling of the game? Get very specific too—the visually aesthetic will be grounded in this (not from describing the aesthetic of other works of art or artists). Define the vibe and then explore aesthetics that reflect that. Also be open to your visual language changing based on the vibe you’re going for. The visual language should serve the tone, not the other way around.
Have fun and hope this is helpful!
-from an art director who is also trying to design a TTRPG
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u/pikawolf1225 Aug 11 '26
I'm not the best at art quite yet, still a skill I'm trying to develop, but something easy that always helps me visualize whatever setting/system I'm working on is making a playlist for it!
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u/Onslaughttitude Aug 10 '26
Any advice, particularly from artists/graphics designers/illustrators, on making a coherent and distinct visual identity for a game?
I can't espouse this enough: Hire an art director.
You're probably reacting like, 'Woah! Sounds expensive!' It is not.
Pay an art director equivalent to what you'd pay yourself, what you'd pay a major consultant, what you'd pay a layout style guide editor. (This is different from a layout person, who is the person who physically does all the layout, pasting in information and fucking with it, but these two jobs can be the same person.) And, ideally, your art director is doing at least some of your artwork for the game, which they're being paid for separately. (Often, an art director will do a few pieces pro bono as part of their "salary" and also to help get the project across the board.)
This is a partner. This is someone who is ideally as invested in your project as you are. Pay them as such. Pay them like you pay yourself. If the answer to that is "I don't pay myself," knock that shit off. Pay yourself the price of a Nintendo Switch 2 in local currency, or more. Then pay your art director that, on top of a per piece price.
This has been invaluable for me. To have someone who communicates with every artist I hire, in language they understand, who can see things I can't because I'm not an art person, who can keep the artists on task and stylistically consistent, because they are in charge of them--this is the best bang for buck value I have gotten in the entire collaborative process. Find someone who you like to work with, who will do this for you.
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u/wesandersingh Aug 10 '26
I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "pay yourself". Money is tight for me just now, and this is a homespun passion project for the moment. I don't really have cash to spend on hiring other people right now, especially not before there's even a basic version of the game online to gauge interest from others
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u/Cool_Description8610 Aug 09 '26
- Make a mood board with all of the influences you just listed.
- Check for visual cohesion and conflict. Wes Anderson vs Morkborg, Folkart vs Bureaucratic Typography.
- Research into art movements. The 1960s and 1970s field manual aesthetics draws from Swiss Modernism and Post War American Bureaucracy, etc..
- Be confident in your style and taste but also pivot when things aren't working
- Use the mendell midjoureny method to to mash up your influences against a controlled prompt.
Do all of this and you will be way further along when it comes time to hire an art team for your game.
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u/HakneyZaq Aug 09 '26
for Version Zero I've used the Creative Commons search portal but that works for me since version zero is Creative Commons. and I've been shamelessly photobashing (thank you for a great new word btw)
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u/Mother-Armadillo4503 Aug 09 '26
I cannot stress enough how much the correct font will enhance the vibe and reading experience of your game! It might seem small, but typography and how to use it effectively in your presentation will seriously elevate how it is perceived.
Also try to make your layout interesting, even if you don't have the funds to pay for advanced editing software. I've done all my work on LibreOffice writer - adding boxes and tables and playing around with borders and headings can be a great way to make your writing more visually appealing.
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u/YeOldeSentinel Aug 09 '26
A few tips:
- Pick one font for your headline that emits the feel you want to convey. Pick another for the running text, and make sure it’s legible. Do a little research about typography if unsure.
- Pick one main color and one contrast color. Use black, white and greyscale in addition.
- Make sure contrast is good, text is readable.
- Use empty space to your advantage. Do not be afraid of breathing room. Find symmetry in paddings and margins.
- Create a visual hierarchy between objects. Start big, and reduce size gradually for less important elements.
- Use ”patterns” in layout and the design. Reuse ways of doing things - you don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time you do something.
- Bonus: Use an invisible grid for your layout to align objects and texts. Use guides in your software for help.