Grand Central installation - Kristiana

Dating sites attempt to make users describe themselves, define themselves in 200 words or less—highlighting the most important things about themselves. By visually looking at what people say about themselves and what they look for in a relationship, one can map a mosaic of human relationships based on what people want from a partner. The end result of the project will take the form of an interactive infographic that would be projection mapped onto the constellation ceiling of Grand Central Terminal. 750,000 people pass through the station every day, these are our potential users. They can parse through or contribute to the data via interactive screens placed throughout the terminal. There is something poetic about seeing and forming connections at places that connect us to other places—I can see this installation being installed in airports such as JFK or LaGuardia, but Grand Central's constellation ceiling has a very satisfying shape, perfect for an immersive dome experience.

Through the process of web scraping multiple online dating sites such as Tinder, OkCupid, Coffee and Bagel, etc, one can categorize words and phrases and separate them with gender, sexuality, and age. By examining the datasets of these sites, I can ask questions such as, “what are the top first dates?” or “what are the top turn-ons?” As of this month (November 2018), the top turn-on qualities are intelligence, nice smile, and a sense of humor. After the user shares their interests and qualities, they can upload their profile and send it off onto the projection ceiling. I think there should be a haptic quality embedded into the experience such as a touch pad making a short vibration when someone else touches a pad on the other side of the building or if the interface were a mobile app it can vibrate when you are matched. This aspect is still in progress.

This project is for those who seek a relationship and the participants are willing to share themselves onto the projected screen and open space under the constellation. This would certainly be a group effort that consists of engineers—particularly for projection rigging and web/interface development, interaction designers, and motion graphics designers. Permission is needed by the MTA Arts and Design and Grand Central authorities. Safety and space use permits are needed as well.