A pack of trump cards was yesterday launched as a comic tribute to the now classical era of Maltese buses and their owner drivers.
The Bus Bosses Tribute Card Game concept started out as a group project in 2010 during the final year of a graphic design and interactive media degree course at the university.
A quartet of students identified the local public transport culture as a particularly interesting “interaction platform” and immediately applied a “playful” twist to it.
After research and personal observation the team breathed life into a collection of 14 cards illustrating bus-driver stereotypes. Typical motifs, bus decorations and characteristic typography were also identified.
The lengthy preparatory process involved numerous bus rides, photos, sketches, notes, meetings and endless cups of coffee.
Each card features a fictional bus-driver character complete with a profile and scoring criteria such as “punctuality”, “loudness”, “courtesy” and “decoration”.
The project was deemed an instant success but the game was shelved for a while in order to complete studies.
A year later, as the public transport reform became imminent, the Bus Bosses team decided to take the project further by launching the game officially.
This involved even more research, sketches and the introduction of accompanying accessories, to create a 32-card pack.
The cards were launched during the Patches Market, held at the Upper Barrakka Gardens, yesterday.
The Bus Bosses Team is made up of Mark Scicluna, who sketched the bus drivers, Julian Mallia who illustrated the motifs and character profile, Glenn Grech who took care of the logo and layout design and Chiara Bonello, who took care of typography and packaging.
Inspired by local culture, music and other art forms, Mr Scicluna, 24, is now a freelance illustrator and a full-time assistant graphic design lecturer at the MCAST Institute of Art and Design, while Mr Grech, 21, says he derives inspiration from music and nature.
Mr Mallia, 26, works as a graphic designer and illustrator with a leading advertising agency and has a keen interest in fine art, animation, music and drumming.
Given her family’s musical and artistic background, Ms Bonello experimented with typography, editorial and minimalist design and is currently developing her own style.
The pack, which was launched as a trial yesterday, is not currently for sale from any other outlets but the team might market it online subject to public demand.