Right now I'm feeling at a crossroads in the process of visually designing The 7 of 9. One mind-expanding idea that I've had has been to scrap the plan to make the system a double-sided card set, and instead have the whole thing one-sided. When I realized just how much more convenient this may be for people using it as a photo opportunity (taking photos of their mind maps to illustrate their stories) I became entranced with this idea. I always knew multiple photos were going to be a necessity, since piling cards on top of each other will be an option. So, you would take a few photos, ensuring that in each pile, all the cards got a chance to sit at the top to be photographed — and you would post a series of photos. However, it's always nice to lower the amount of effort needed with an activity like that. The information on the backs would be essential to the meaning of your mind map, requiring you to flip each card to photograph each twice — thus doubling all these photos.

From experience, I've learned that speed of production will be the key to making The 7 of 9 affordable to buy as a full system. The cost of materials has become fairly meaningless when compared to time. I've estimated the cost of the 144 card system in the format I'm using for the plates at around $11,000 — and I will be putting each set up for sale — but obviously there is a desperate need to lower the price if this will become generally accessible. In order to do this, it will be necessary to experiment with other tools and materials. I have an Amazon Wish List to share, — which is pretty much in flux and more of a vague dreamboard right now as I perfect my ideas — and here is the link to my blades and cutting mats, which do need to be occasionally replaced. This gives a very approximate notion of the smaller-scale amount of support I could use for this which is likely in the hundreds. Below, I'm detailing my latest experimentation ideas below.

After completing 3 designs for The 16(32) (triangular 7 of 9 version) and 16(2) (diamond shaped similar design) Sets, in 3 different shades of cardstock, I've decided to change my design direction for coloring to a vintage television inspired RGB theme. Follow along with the images in this slideshow to see what I mean. I think almost anyone would agree with me when taking a look at these 2 official designs right now that the maroon one (the second color in my rainbow set I now own) looks way better than the lavender (the third last) because the lighter shade of purple doesn't provide enough poppin' contrast with the holoprismatic gold.

The first of The KEYS ⨺ 16(32) prototypes (KEYS 2 and 3) were created the night of April 18th, 2026, in a creative frenzy. A video was uploaded too. Inspired by the latest new pieces for The SOLVE ⨺ 18(36) and COAGULA ⨺ 27(54) Sets which looked so beautiful, I couldn't resist charging through card face designs for the entire 7 of 9, instead of backs or further writings right now. I also felt having card faces done for every set first would support me in presenting the work in progress on Meta in a more visually exciting way. So, I've begun that creative journey. I'll try to balance writing and design as I go through this. 

I recently completed a large portion of the fronts for the SOLVE ⨺ 18(36) and COAGULA ⨺27(54) Sets. I started by creating geometically perfect versions of the "vectors" aka digital lines that will be cut by the dye cutter. I had been thoroughly trained by Anson Phong in how to do this in the lineage of the artist XAVI, but it has been many years since I've done it. So, I used ChatGPT to remind me how to execute what Phong had taught me. I know how to make guides (the cyan lines you see), but making them completely mathematically precise and customized was the trick. It felt good knowing that the shapes are perfect to the micropoint. That may not make any practical difference in such small shapes — but you never know if it possibly it affects subtle visual psychology even at that scale. As mentioned in a previous entry, I had wished that I could use the awkward and uneven triangles plopped together which I had come up with for my mockups, just for a progressive loss of visual harmony spanning from COAGULA to the lowest SOLVE (for symbolic reasons to do with the transformational process of alchemy) but in process with the dye cutter it was confirmed that this will impossible in this format, since tight corners are a challenge for the machine. 

I decided to practice this planned dye cutting technique with these materials (for The 7 of 9), on a series of 2 designs I created for UNITY LIFE Greeting Cards that also fall into the category of fine art items to hang on your wall. I'll have to come up with a better name for what they're called, actually. They came out absolutely stunning, but not without lots of mistakes and such a learning curve — so it felt perfect to make my mistakes on items that are just being made to gift out to friends and loved ones. My sister's birthday is coming up and I have some important thank you cards to send out. 

I've finished the process of writing the 9 strategies of the COAGULA ⨺ 27(54) set which all correspond to the bottom left area of the card backs. As well, the third symbol on the bottom right of the card is now composed with titles and short descriptions. Initially, in the documentation for The 7 of 9, the 3 symbol permutations on the top of the card were already defined, but this area has now been named.

This project has been planned for a very long time and may take quite a while to be done, but I am planning to redesign The 64 CARDS. Previously, the plan has been to visually upgrade 32 out of 64 of the cards to a more aesthetically pleasing yet just as educational geometric design. However, new revelations of producing dye cut geometric designs (stencils) over holographic gold material for The 7 of 9 has inspired a new plan to also make sure the designs for The 64 CARDS are stencil friendly for this type of production when they get upgraded. Along with this, I've decided to make the backs into a design which slightly resembles The 72 FACETS (IN 144) and The 7 of 9 — many diamonds (or possibly triangles — we will see) on a grid with visually pleasing margins between them. The amount of shapes that are there will count up to the numbering of the card, to indicate the card number. This will support young people who are learning how to count as an All Ages & Abilities educational feature. There will also be the card title in stencil friendly writing. This is quite a design challenge, but I'm confident that I can do this. Correspondingly, the Quick-Start Guide PDF which instructs the use of The 64 CARDS will be also displayed on the website for an online format option, as inspired by the evolution of The 7 of 9. In moving towards that reality, I have recently added 3 new info rich online galleries of The 64 CARDS. These will also be added to the instructional PDF as one upgrade, just with small icons of each card and info to support quick reference.

Gorgeous new mock ups for the upcoming 7 of 9 tangible cards have been released today, and as a little piece of history, I'd like to offer some design notes on these. 

In response to my recent entry in The 7 of 9 Process Artifact Journal — TRANSFORMING AND ARCHITECTING THE PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT PLAN & ASSESSING 7 OF 9 CARD PRODUCTION COSTS — a person I had never spoken to before reached out to me with an absolutely gorgeous gesture. They offered to fund the remaining $240 CAD which I cited in that entry that I would need in order to complete the full prototype !! )))) And there was no request for (or dream of) donations in that entry. Now, that donation is received and I've ordered all the materials (Update : Photos of the materials are being added now that they've later arrived, to the images here). So all I have to do now is design it, and it will be manifested.

Today I began working on a "production prototype" for how The 7 of 9 Prototype will be created. I've formally decided to stop making these prototype cards with painting and crayon in this fashion (as seen in the photo) and instead, develop the entire 144 card prototype as my best effort to produce the exact final production format that it will be when eventually for sale.

Today I made the decision to eventually produce The 16 KEYS in a special format when they are for sale. The plan is to save up for a laser cutter to cut adhesive cardstock (of suiting colors) into stencils (from digitally prepared designs) — then adhese those over holo gold sheets. I see the designs for the backs also being purely stencil based, so I'd like double sided holo gold paper. I did some basic research to see if all those materials would be attainable (knowing it probably would) and I was pleased with the availability of choices. This would allow me to supply sales by demand, so that my costs would not be too high.

The first of The 16 KEYS has been created in its new design to become part of The 7 of 9. In fact, digitally, there have been 2 created. The one that was completed was KEY 2 ◊ MIND OF FREEDOM. This key is about strategic mastery — infinite strategic ability. As part of this design project, a plan has been created for how the rest of the keys will be visually organized, and the aesthetic has been chosen for all. As you can see, these are loosely based on the diamond shaped glyphs which are currently in use for The 16 KEYS. However, the use of triangles instead of diamonds has dramatically altered the aesthetic and approach. To me, it seems alien looking — something which I find very fitting to triangles and The 16 KEYS actually too. 

In following along with posts from Jared Leto and 30 Seconds To Mars, I noticed that they were celebrating the 20 year anniversary of their single, The Kill. I noticed that if I would write the words you are now reading — a creative storytelling piece about The Kill which I've been pondering for years — it would correspond perfectly with the progression of materials I've been releasing through UNITY LIFE, especially those related to 30STM. So here it is : It's an example of creative storytelling which can be produced from use of The 7 of 9 ⨺ SOLVE COAGULA Mind Map System (Prototype) a game which is deeply integrated with the band's discography. 

The powerful 16 KEYS plates that you see here are no longer going to be in use for illustration of The 16 KEYS once they are soon re-designed to match the triangular format of The 7 of 9. However, they will find a new place within the UNITY LIFE resources. These beautiful glyphs will be repurposed into a new card set of 22 cards — 2 sets of 11 — by creating 3 more similar glyphs and mirroring them each upsidown to create a total of 6 new designs on top of what you see here.

An image of one of The 64 CARDS overlaid over the dimensions of The 7 of 9 to illustrate my design plans. 

Just before labeling and publishing the card face images for the SOLVE ⨺ COAGULA sets, I caught an important oversight at the last moment. In the rush of preparing the release, I realized I had not yet checked whether the ordering aligned with the discography of 30 Seconds to Mars—something that, in retrospect, felt essential.

Since this system relies heavily on the numerological significance of 7 and 9, I have been considering naming the system 7 of 9. There are 7 main symbols in the system which correspond to the 7 stages of laboratory alchemy, as well as 7 main power institutions (called sectors) of society. As well, the cards will be laid out on a "game board" mat which has 9 diamond shapes, in which to place up to 18 triangular cards. Since the set was originally incepted based on inspirations from Star Trek : Picard, I found an interest in the Star Trek character Seven of Nine who is featured in Picard, as well as Voyager and throughout the Star Trek Universe. I found her background of assimilation with the Borg especially interesting in perspective with my emphasis on power institutions, for which the Borg may be considered a metaphor. Once the set goes through to actual sales, in any larger format, I may need to delete this entry for legal reasons (although I'm not entirely sure). But for now, I feel confident sharing my ideas. 

Initially, there has been a need to visually promote the prototype before it is more developed, in order to offer the news in celebration of Jared Leto and Marilyn Manson's birthdays (Jared on Dec 26, 2025 and Manson on Jan 5 or "15", 2026). For visual interest, I've started by creating a handmade series of 7 cards. Let's take a close look at each one, and learn about what they mean and how they will work in the system, after which I will explain more about this handmade approach and visual communication design : 

The 7 of 9 system is inspired by a card set which was featured in the series Star Trek : Picard, as well as a connection with Star Trek Next Generation scenes in which 3 layered chess was played. For now, I wanted to share some of what ChatGPT said in my research, just a little more about these two games, for background reference information :

In May 2022 I was keeping a personal diary, as usual, in which I wrote down my daily reflections. At that time, I was watching the new Star Trek series, Picard. In an early episode, I noticed a sweater worn by Picard which fit into my pattern language study of the media called #diamonds2unitylife. This signalled me that there may be important information within the series that would be reflective of UNITY LIFE Mystery School and supportive to my creative growth. This couldn't have been more true. In episode 3, I discovered a card set which was prominently featured throughout the season which in combination with a 3-layered chess game in Star Trek The Next Generation, would inspire this new prototype for UNITY LIFE. Much more information about those Star Trek games will be provided in another entry.