36 Questions to Fall in Love: A Prototyping Journey
“Did you ever read that article in the Times about the 36 questions to fall in love?” I’d ask when introducing the project I was working on and now have a prototype of.
I was referring to the piece, “To Fall in Love with Anyone, Do This” where Mandy Len Catron revisits psychologist Arthur Aron’s ’90s study that helped two strangers find love in a lab. Mandy describes recreating the lab experience in a bar with an acquaintance, alternately posing each of the 36 questions from the study to each other and ending the night with another of the lab’s activities: staring into each other’s eyes for four minutes. She shares at the end of the article they do fall in love, but emphasizes their love was a choice born out of the space of trust and intimacy they created that night.
First Concept: A Tasty Failure
Creating a shared space of intimacy is what most intrigued me. That idea has stuck with me until I finally decided to create a project around it.
I was in the middle of ending a relationship when I decided to incorporate the 36 questions into a fun, game-like, analog form. At first, I had the silly idea of creating three different flavors of fortune cookies to correspond to the three sets of 12 questions that increase in level of intimacy as the study’s time progressed. I questioned whether anyone would want to eat 18 fortune (½ of 36) cookies, but went ahead with part of the idea anyway. I made about two successful matcha cookies, the max a person can bake and successfully mold into the appropriate shape at a time.
Stroke of Luck Inspires Another Prototype
While inserting the fortunes into the cookies, I was inspired by how scratch cards reveal information. With that, I was relieved to be relieved of baking. I researched and found vendors that were too expensive and not appropriate to quickly and cheaply test out the idea. I then found Amazon sells scratch-off stickers.
Before plunking down cash, I decided to test whether one question could fit under a scratch-off sticker. After copying the questions into a spreadsheet, I identified the longest question at 182 characters and copied that into a 2.5”x1” space at a legible font size. Once that cleared, I decided to do a quick paper prototype using 13”x9” paper on hand and Post-Its cut to size. I went through with the purchase of the 2.5”x1” stickers and another of set of 2”x2” as an alternative.
Break to Finish
I put the project on hold until I moved and became settled into my new apartment. Somehow I also managed to completely shake up my life in three days. Wednesday: discuss resignation and submit corresponding letter to my boss. Thursday: have a lovely breakup dinner with my boyfriend. Friday: move into my new apartment.
When I picked up the project again, I downloaded a 7-day trial of InDesign CC to timebox my finish. I haven’t done much with print production since my ad agency days so I searched for a tri-fold brochure template to get the bleed, trim, live and fold marks. When I didn’t find any templates at 13”x19”, I knew the paper size had to change. I found a template for 11”x25.5” and saw at least one printing site (Vistaprint) used it so I was on my way!
As I worked in InDesign, I was happy I’d bought the 2”x2” scratch-off stickers as a backup. I liked the square design and that I could increase the font size to 12pt (in EB Garamond, a typeface I chose for its legibility at smaller sizes and because I don’t own Adobe Garamond nor would I purchase it for a prototype). I paired it with Domine because I’ve used the typeface for its numbers in the past. If I’d spent more time, I’d have found a better typeface pair that worked well together beyond each of their individual strengths.
It took some adjusting to move from RGB to CMYK. I revisited Pantone colors, spot vs. process colors, coated vs. uncoated paper. I ended up choosing these colors which I converted to CMYK:
- PANTONE Cool Gray 1 U: box outlines, indicating where the scratch-off stickers would go
- Full process black: question and body text, chosen because to ensure the questions’s readability beneath the scratch-off sticker (and concerns PANTONE Cool Gray 9 might not contrast enough)
- PANTONE Bright Red U: accent color of the headlines
I finished the design, uploaded it to the FedEx site to print a few copies, and smiled! Within the hour, the phone rang and my heart sank. The paper size was still custom so FedEx couldn’t print the “brochures” double-sided and fold them. If I had done 11x17 I wouldn’t have had this issue but the product wouldn’t have been as legible. Since the copies are part of a prototype, I decided I’d make them double-sided with tape or glue. I also scaled back on color, opting for black-and-white for about about 10% of the price.
I trudged back-and-forth through the snow to pick up the prints and began assembling the first prototype with the scratch-off stickers.
Then the prototype was done (for now)!
Reflections and Next Steps
Seeing a test print helped me note changes I’d want to make even without feedback. I’d decrease the type size of instructions by at least 20% and I’d improve the clarity of that copy. I might add a signifier of ruled lines or a boxed area to encourage writing in the Notes & Reflections section. I centered the content within the live areas of the panels but may adjust that in the template when I print again.
You’ll notice I haven’t scratched off any questions in the photos. I planned to but realized I could test the prototype by using it. I already promised two of three prototypes to other people: a friend who’s been in a relationship with someone for decades and a friend in the early stages of dating someone. Since they volunteered to test the prototype, it never occurred to me to test it myself. I’ll follow up with all the test results here!
Clap to motivate me. ;)
If you’re interested in this concept evolving beyond a prototype to a Kickstarter project and/or funded mass-produced product, let me know! I’ll use the short form to gauge interest and report updates.
