Personita - portrait and situation cards with no fixed meaning
Most card sets tell you what to see. Personita shows you faces and moments, and leaves the rest to you. No fixed meanings, no explanation per card. Just portraits of children and young people from different parts of the world, combined with situation cards that show interactions.
The deck consists of 121 cards: 77 portraits and 44 situations. You can use them separately, or combine them. Draw a portrait and a situation, and see what happens. Who is this character? What does she or he feel in this moment? What would you do?
What you see on the cards
The portraits are drawn in a soft, almost classical style. Each face has its own expression: curious, expectant, happy, closed. The diversity is real. You see faces from Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas. No stereotypes, just recognisable humanity.
The situation cards show interactions without telling you exactly what is happening. Two children looking at something together. Someone sitting alone. A group in conversation. There is no text, so your own projection determines what you see.
The cards are printed on sturdy card stock with a matte finish. The format is 63 x 88 mm, which makes them easy to handle with intensive use. The storage box is solid enough to last for years.
How you can work with them
Personita is especially popular in coaching, therapy and education. Many therapists use the cards to talk about family patterns without being too direct. Teachers use them to talk about emotions, friendship or conflict. Coaches use them to practice perspective-taking.
But you do not need to be a professional to work with them. The cards work just as well for everyday use. Draw a portrait and ask yourself: what would this character need today? Or take a situation card and see if you recognise yourself in it.
Combine a portrait with a situation card and tell the story out loud. What is happening? What emotion do you see? You quickly notice which themes surface for you.
About the creators
Personita was created by Ely Raman and Marina Lukyanova. Raman was a Canadian artist who spent his life working with playing cards as a medium for self-reflection. He developed several card sets, including the OH Cards, which are used worldwide in therapeutic settings.
Lukyanova was trained in the classical art tradition of Saint Petersburg. Her work is characterised by attention to natural beauty and human expression. For Personita she drew the portraits with a gentle hand, without exaggeration or drama.
Specifications
- Contents: 77 portrait cards and 44 situation cards (121 cards total)
- Card format: 63 x 88 mm
- Material: high-quality card stock with matte finish
- Publisher: OH Publishing
- Guidebook language: German
- Card language: text-free, universally usable
- Weight: 300 grams
- Packaging: sturdy storage box
- Artists: Ely Raman (1930-2007) and Marina Lukyanova
Questions we often get
Does this deck work if you cannot read the German guidebook?
Yes. The cards themselves contain no text and the guidebook mainly describes exercises and examples, not fixed meanings. You can use the cards entirely in your own way.
How does Personita differ from the OH Cards?
Personita focuses specifically on portraits of children and young people, whereas the OH Cards contain a wider range of images. The system is similar: you combine cards and make your own associations. Personita has a clearer human component through its focus on faces.
