This site is best viewed in Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and all other major browsers. Use of Internet Explorer or Edge is not recommended.
The goal was to inspire understanding and respect and as part of a greater initiative to make the streets of D.C. safe for residents and visitors. Commissioned by The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, the exhibit was part of the District’s Vision Zero Traffic Safety initiative.
The MMD Branding team explored the complex nature of behaviors exhibited in public places among strangers. The intent was to use design to inspire conversation and also to educate in order to affect behavior that improves the human condition by inspiring understanding and respect.
The purpose of this form is to create a sense of becoming smaller as one is being watched. The form was covered by a combination of transparent and opal polycarbonate, with a length of 32 feet and a width of 11 ft at its widest, narrowing in the middle and a height of 9 ft at the tallest, dropping to 7ft high in the middle, it was also meant to feel more constricted as one passes through.
The sounds were city sounds and conversations and stories that represent exchanges. Anonymous stories were portrayed as quotes, which were more benign and friendly at the opening of the exhibit, but became increasingly uncomfortable as one passed through the middle. In addition to visiting the exhibit, participants were encouraged to share their own stories through a website and to take photos and share them on an Instagram account set up for the exhibit. During the time the exhibit was open, hundreds of people shared their stories and thousands of people visited the exhibit, which was covered by several local press outlets.