Korean Tarot

Immersive 3D Storytelling Experience Inspired by Korean Culture

What if digital content behaved more like an immersive story than a static page?

Timeline

Oct 2022 - May 2023

Timeline

Oct 2022 - May 2023

Timeline

Oct 2022 - May 2023

Team

Designer (5)

Software Enginner (1)

Team

Designer (5)

Software Enginner (1)

Team

Designer (5)

Software Enginner (1)

My Role

UI Design

Character Modeling/Texturing

My Role

UI Design

Character Modeling/Texturing

My Role

UI Design

Character Modeling/Texturing

Tools

Figma, Photoshop, Illustrator, Cinema4D, Maya, After Effects, Marvelous Designer

Tools

Figma, Photoshop, Illustrator, Cinema4D, Maya, After Effects, Marvelous Designer

Tools

Figma, Photoshop, Illustrator, Cinema4D, Maya, After Effects, Marvelous Designer

Korean Tarot is not just a fortune telling site. It’s an experiment in how immersive, culture-driven visuals can stop scrolling and pull users into a story-driven digital experience. This project demonstrates how 3D environments, motion, and narrative UX can be used to: capture attention quickly, sustain engagement through interaction, translate abstract cultural concepts into emotionally resonant digital experiences

Project Context

As digital content becomes increasingly scroll-driven, most online experiences rely on static visuals and text heavy layouts. This often results in low dwell time and shallow engagement. A challenge also faced by digital advertising.

What if digital content behaved more like an immersive story than a static page?

As digital content becomes increasingly scroll-driven, most online experiences rely on static visuals and text heavy layouts. This often results in low dwell time and shallow engagement. A challenge also faced by digital advertising.

What if digital content behaved more like an immersive story than a static page?

As digital content becomes increasingly scroll-driven, most online experiences rely on static visuals and text heavy layouts. This often results in low dwell time and shallow engagement. A challenge also faced by digital advertising.

What if digital content behaved more like an immersive story than a static page?

Problem

  • Most digital experiences (including ads) rely on flat visuals

  • Cultural storytelling is often reduced to surface-level decoration

  • Users scroll past content before meaning or emotion can land


    If users are given a space to enter rather than just view, engagement naturally increases.

  • Most digital experiences (including ads) rely on flat visuals

  • Cultural storytelling is often reduced to surface-level decoration

  • Users scroll past content before meaning or emotion can land


    If users are given a space to enter rather than just view, engagement naturally increases.

Project Goal

Explore how 3D interactive storytelling can increase user dwell time

Translate cultural aesthetics into digitally native visual narratives

Design an experience that feels editorial, cinematic, and immersive

Test how interaction can replace passive consumption

Explore how 3D interactive storytelling can increase user dwell time

Translate cultural aesthetics into digitally native visual narratives

Design an experience that feels editorial, cinematic, and immersive

Test how interaction can replace passive consumption

Fantasies of Korea

Fantasies of Korea

The card's characteristics match well with the tarot figures.

The card's characteristics match well with the tarot figures.

Major Arcana in Korean Style

Major Arcana in Korean Style

Major Arcana in Korean Style

It directly connects Korean elements to the tarot.

It directly connects Korean elements to the tarot.

It directly connects Korean elements to the tarot.

22 Korean Tarot Cards

22 Korean Tarot Cards

22 Korean Tarot Cards

It directly connects Korean elements to the tarot.

It directly connects Korean elements to the tarot.

It directly connects Korean elements to the tarot.

Korean Pictorial Tarot

Korean Pictorial Tarot

Designed using real old paintings and artifacts.

Designed using real old paintings and artifacts.

Korean Tarot's Eastern-inspired card designs

Korean Tarot's Eastern-inspired card designs

Key Features & Interactive Solution

3D Interactive Entry Points

3D Interactive Entry Points

Each tarot card acts as a micro immersive environment, inviting users to explore rather than scroll. Similar to how high-impact native ads pull users into a brand story instead of interrupting it.

Narrative Based Interaction Flow

Narrative Based Interaction Flow

Users don’t receive information instantly. They discover meaning gradually through interaction, increasing dwell time and emotional investment.

  • Choose a theme (love, career, wealth)

  • Draw past / present / future cards

  • Enter each card’s 3D space to uncover meaning

Visual Storytelling Over Text

Visual Storytelling Over Text

Rather than explaining meaning through long copy, symbolism and motion guide understanding. Letting visuals do the heavy lifting in storytelling.

Competitor Analysis

Kismet : A 3D tarot card game in VR

A tarot interaction site run by the official YouTube account.

Text-based tarot sites → low engagement, fast drop-off

Static visual sites → decorative but forgettable

3D interactive experiences → higher curiosity and exploration


Interactivity + narrative = longer attention windows
→ exactly what premium ad environments aim to achieve.

Design Process

Adapting the 22 Major Arcana cards to Korean cultural figures was challenging. We explored using the 12 Zodiac animals, Korean deities, historical figures (like Emperor Gojong and Hwang Jini), and fictional characters (like Jeon Woo-chi), but maintaining consistency was difficult.

To ensure unity and avoid sensitivity, we chose generic titles, using "Emperor" instead of "Emperor Gojong" and "Fairy" instead of specific names. Each card’s interaction was crafted to align with its meaning, balancing cultural representation with tarot archetypes.


They functioned as emotional cues, making the experience feel distinct and memorable.

Design & Prototype

Initial 2D concepts felt decorative and easy to ignore.
Switching to 3D created depth, curiosity, and spatial engagement.

→ The same reason 3D, motion-led creatives outperform flat banners in native placements.

Cultural Aesthetics as Emotional Triggers

Korean traditional colors / Yin yang inspired card backs / Historical visual references

Korean traditional colors / Yin yang inspired card backs / Historical visual references

The initial approach was to design a character with no eyebrows or a cute childlike character. However, in order to capture the mysterious and serious vibe of the tarot cards, I switched to a 3D character with a more realistic image.

I was responsible for designing the visual and interaction system for a 3D-driven web experience, shaping how users explore and engage with the content through motion and spatial storytelling. I led the character modeling, texturing, and rigging process to ensure narrative consistency and a cohesive visual identity across the experience. Cultural symbolism was translated into motion-based visual storytelling, allowing abstract meanings to be communicated through interaction rather than text alone. Throughout the project, I collaborated closely with engineers to balance performance, usability, and immersion, ensuring that the experience remained technically efficient while delivering a rich, engaging visual narrative.

I was primarily responsible for modeling and rigging the character faces. For this project, I learned Marvelous Designer and created the traditional Korean costumes of the Fairy and the Emperor. This enhanced the narrative immersion and elevated the visual quality of the tarot card experience.

Information Architecture & User Flow

The structure is designed to guide users through various fortune categories seamlessly:

  1. Choose a Fortune Type

Users select a fortune category, such as love or career.

  1. Draw Three Cards

Users explore their past, present, and future fortunes within the selected category.

  1. Interact and Discover

By clicking on a card, users enter a 3D space filled with symbols, allowing for a deep, interactive fortune-telling experience.

Visual Design Choices

To align with Eastern aesthetics, we used Korean traditional colors, historical elements, and a unique back card design that reflects the yin-yang philosophy. This distinct design approach provides an engaging yet culturally rich visual experience.

3D Card Design

The cards were designed in 3D to give users the sensation of stepping into an immersive world within each card. Each fortune type is represented with unique color schemes and elements that align with traditional Korean symbolism. My primary contributions in the 3D design aspect included character modeling and rigging, ensuring the characters supported the interactive and mystical atmosphere of the tarot experience.

Outcomes & Recognition

Successfully launched as an interactive web experience

Positive feedback for originality and immersion

Encouragement Prize, 29th International Communication Design Competition

What this proves

This project shows that I can: Design story-driven digital experiences that feel native, not interruptive. Use 3D and motion to increase emotional engagement. Translate cultural narratives into scalable digital formats. Think beyond “screens” and design attention-aware experiences

Messeage me on Linkedin or stalk my Insta

Other links

ANNALYTICAL DESIGN

© 2025 by Anna E KIm

Messeage me on Linkedin or stalk my Insta

Other links

ANNALYTICAL DESIGN

© 2025 by Anna E KIm

Messeage me on Linkedin or stalk my Insta

Other links

ANNALYTICAL DESIGN

© 2025 by Anna E KIm