Elegant white script text on a black background that reads 'Wadham & Laity'.
Woman with dark makeup and jewelry, sitting at a table with a crystal ball, in front of red curtain, illuminated with blue and red lighting.

WORLD RENOWNED FORTUNE TELLER

The success of PARADOX brands lies in our deep understanding of human patterns and archetypal behaviors, informed by tools such as Tarot, Human Design, astrology, and ancient wisdom traditions.

Madam Clarity is a digital oracle, conceived and crafted as an activation for PARADOX’s party. She’s proof that when you honor both the mystical and the methodical, you create work that’s not just pretty, but potent — delivering real psychological insight wrapped in genuine magic.

OUR TASK

  • Create an experience that is authentic to Tarot but still palatable to non-believers

    Tarot is an integral part of my life and the brand strategies that I create for clients. I wanted to share this magic in a way that is distinctly tarot, but not too spiritual leaning.

  • Demonstrate PARADOX's brand philosophy in a way that makes guests feel seen & understood

    Josh desired an identity that is heavily baseball-coded, combined nostalgia into modern baseball, and was not finance-forward. 108L isn’t just another service provider, they are a partner and the backbone of the team’s longevity.

  • Find a way to allow users to keep their fortunes as future sources of inspiration

    There are some lessons that can only be learned on the field. Youth sports are invaluable to the development of resilient and well rounded children, and Josh is dedicated to ensuring this tradition continues through Seattle and the Greater Eastside.

Archetype: The Magician

Pssst - we used my Archetype Clarity Guide for this project! Sharing it here in case you resonate with 108 Logistics’ archetype.

The Magician’s Mantra: “The choice is yours.”

PARADOX's audience (Stuck Seekers, The Spiritually-Minded but Business-Confused, Creative Entrepreneurs Who Feel Like Outsiders, The "Successful" but Miserable, and The Identity-Compromised) all shared a common fear: being their authentic self will lead to financial ruin and social rejection. PARADOX was destined to embody The Magician archetype. Our work calls to people who are tired of choosing between making money and making meaning, who refuse to believe that success requires compromising who they are, who know their weirdness is actually their greatest business asset.

Madam Clarity became a manifestation of The Magician's power: proof that the very things you think make you "unprofessional" are actually your competitive advantage. There was a time I'd never publicly talk about using alternative tools of wisdom to inform my brand strategies, but I've come to learn that it is a massive disservice to myself to hide the very things that make PARADOX successful.

The magic isn't in becoming someone else—it's in becoming more yourself than you ever thought possible. Madam Clarity was living proof that when you stop apologizing for who you are and start wielding your full power, you create experiences that are impossible to replicate and impossible to ignore.

Through countless client successes, PARADOX has proved time and again that authenticity isn't just financially viable—it's the most powerful business strategy there is. Our work involves the transmutation of perception: the very things you think would ruin you become your greatest assets. Your weirdness becomes your competitive advantage. Your sensitivity becomes your superpower. Your complexity becomes your calling card.

What's the PARADOX?

What's the PARADOX?

Making the brand

Madam Clarity sees everything, yet insists it’s you who already knows.

The User Experience Process

The UX design for Madam Clarity began with understanding that mystical experiences require careful orchestration to feel genuinely magical rather than gimmicky. Drawing from my UX background, I mapped the entire user journey from initial curiosity through fortune delivery, identifying key moments where technology could enhance rather than diminish the archetypal experience of seeking wisdom. The interface needed to feel timeless and mysterious while remaining intuitive enough that party guests could navigate it seamlessly, even after a few sardine martinis.

I chose the three-card past/present/future format because it provides the perfect narrative structure that users intuitively understand while creating space for meaningful psychological insight. Every fortune was crafted using a modular content system: card name + three archetypal keywords + pre-written insight + overarching message. This structure ensured consistency while allowing for thousands of unique combinations that felt personally relevant.

The most critical consideration was context

Is there anything worse than receiving bad news at a party?

I deliberately crafted language that maintained tarot's authentic wisdom while ensuring no guest would receive a fortune that could dampen the party atmosphere. Each response was designed to inspire and uplift while still delivering genuine archetypal insights, proving that meaningful spiritual work doesn't require heavy emotional processing to be transformative.

A woman with dark hair and makeup talking on a payphone in an elevator.

PARADOX’S FORTUNE FISH

Completing the Madam Clarity Experience: Tell your wish to the fish.

This wasn't just about aesthetics. The fortune fish solved a critical design challenge: how do you make a digital experience feel lasting and meaningful?

Every Madam Clarity reading ended with something you could keep: Madam Clarity's fortunes printed directly onto a 4x2 thermal label, which guests then stuck to A Fortune Fish — 5x3 stark white cards inked with a fire engine red Fortune Fish print, hand-stamped and carved by me.

The bold red ink against the thick, premium white paper created a unique artifact that was slightly different for each guest, a celebration of personality that is the keystone of each PARADOX project.

The fish, each valid for one wish, was engineered to extend the magic of Madam Clarity beyond the party. The intent of using premium, high-quality materials was that guests would keep their fish somewhere prominent — every time they glimpse that little red fish, they're subconsciously reminded of their intention, their possibility, their wish moving through the universe.

The intention is for the fish to become a daily anchor for manifestation, a visual cue that keeps their fortune actively working in their life.

The Result

Weeks later, I'm still getting photos of fortune fish framed on bookshelves and stuck on bathroom mirrors, proof that the right physical touchpoint can transform a moment of entertainment into a lasting memory.

I've also distributed Fortune Fish to strangers and colleagues who seem like they could use a little magic. Whether it's coincidence, manifestation, or the psychological boost of carrying a physical reminder of possibility, the results speak for themselves: I often am told in our following interactions that the Fish worked it’s magic.

There's something profound about giving someone permission to make a wish and providing them with a tangible symbol to hold onto it.

The fortune fish have become my way of spreading a little intentional magic into everyday encounters, proving that sometimes the smallest gestures — a hand-carved stamp, a moment of genuine connection, a reminder that luck is real — can ripple out in ways you never expected.