Throughout history, humans have had a fascination with predicting the future. Whether it’s through astrology, crystal gazing or reading tea leaves, there’s an inherent desire for someone (or something) to reveal what lies ahead.

So what can a Blue Demon show you?

In March, students in the DIGI Lab debuted a tarot deck that highlighted DePaul and Chicago culture, with references to cuisine, history and campus life. The team designed the deck after the “major arcana,” the 22 tarot cards that represent major life moments or overarching themes.

“It was such a fun project and I’m happy to have been a part of it,” said Jess Correa, an instructional game design assistant at DIGI Lab and senior majoring in animation.

She created The Hanged Man with reference to an iconic photo of Michael Jordan dunking from the early 1990s.

However, instead of Jordan, the card shows DIBS hanging from the basketball rim.

Astrid Myers, another senior and DIGI Lab’s lead game artist, said featuring DePaul’s mascot was an intentional choice.

“The artists wanted to convey a silly feeling of classic Chicago references mixed with our beloved DIBS and how wonderful our university is,” said Myers, majoring in animation with a concentration in game art.

The Sun card depicts the front gates of the Lincoln Park Quad with a bright yellow sun above them. It conveys welcomeness, optimism and warmth, said Myers, who designed the card.

“It was a delicate balance between artistic style of each artist and our reference of older tarot card decks,” they said.

Correa took a very modern approach with some of her cards. She said her favorite one to design was The Chariot. It depicts DIBS leaning against the hood of the No. 71 Chevrolet ZL1, which is a reference to the 2025 NASCAR Chicago Street Race.

“It allowed me to play around with a new idea that I feel turned out much better and made it more visually interesting,” Correa said.

The deck was made in collaboration with the College of Communication’s Media and Popular Culture program as a way for people to interact with MPOP’s table at the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo in March.

Paul Booth, an MPOP professor and collaborator on the project, said he was impressed with the final product the DIGI Lab debuted at the expo.

“When the whole pack of cards came, I was just blown away,” Booth said. “It was thrilling to just look through them and see all of these ideas come to light.”

Over the course of three days, Booth noted that more than 1,000 people interacted with the DePaul table. Students and faculty gave readings to attendees, who got to keep cards as souvenirs.

Jes Klass, the DIGI Lab’s Creative Director and a professional lecturer in the Jarvis College of Computing and Digital Media, said while the cards are not currently available to the public, she hopes they will be in the future.

“I’m really proud of the team,” Klass said. “When you’ve got motivated students and really talented students who all believe in a project, you can really see the potential here and what that turns into.”

“It’s just another way to showcase the excellent work being done by students here.”

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