The Dating Web is a museum exhibit that explores the effect of online dating and apps on the dating world today. Something as personal as dating has been taken to such an impersonal level through these tools of communication. But, on the other hand, has the convenience of these tools actually brought more people together than traditional everyday dating methods?
The project includes complete branding, museum graphics, narrative literature and packaging. The graphics are kept consistent throughout to create a cohesive story. The museum graphics mimic the logo while guiding the viewer through an interactive experience. The narrative literature offers another interactive element, allowing users to try their hand at matchmaking. The final component, a small package to be sold in the gift shop, continues the web pattern and includes facts featured in the exhibit for the patron to take home with them.
Webs can be rather messy and tangled, but this concept shows it in a simplified manner. The extending lines represent the web, as well as cables or wires that connect technology, thus people. Blue and gray were chosen because they are reminiscent of sterile technology, and the red gave a warm pop to help the audience connect the concept with love. The graphic elements are people made up of “webs,” for there is nothing more tangled and confusing than human emotions, especially when love is involved.
To engage museum goers, an interactive wall was included in the exhibit. This wall gives the user a hassle-free way to test out online dating. There is a built in camera that takes a snapshot of you which accompanies your temporary profile. The software will then match you with the profiles of other museum goers. The screen then shows you who your best connection is through the red line.
The exhibit gift box would be sold at the museum gift shop. The laser cut box mimics the web pattern seen throughout the exhibit. Inside is an origami heart to signify how fragile the heart is, while the outside is covered in a belly band printed with different facts about online dating, allowing the visitor to have a reminder of what was featured in the exhibit.
The narrative literature for the exhibit comes in the shape of a flip book, there are examples of different online daters on either side, and it is the museum goers' duty to read their profiles and see who would be best match with whom.
