meow wolf [2023]
Meow Wolf has created its own unique universe, blending art and performance with a complex, interconnected narrative that runs through each exhibition.
Each exhibit is designed to appear familiar, only to defy expectations as visitors explore deeper. For instance, Omega Mart (Vegas) is presented as a typical supermarket, but it’s only when you closely examine the products on the shelves (which are individual art pieces) that you realize things aren’t what they seem.
At the core of the Meow Wolf experience is the opportunity for visitors to engage with art and narratives filled with characters and intricate lore woven throughout the exhibit.
Meow Wolf required support in refining and implementing their numerous ideas into a mobile experience.
To gain deeper insights, we traveled to the U.S. for an intensive week-long visit, exploring two of their four locations in Denver and Las Vegas. There, we engaged with staff and visitors to better understand their experiences.
mission statement
The Meow Wolf App is a subversive pocket portal that connects audiences deeper into imaginative realms of exploration, play and discovery
Working with Meow Wolf’s artist-led team meant moving beyond traditional wireframes towards rapid, high-fidelity visual concepts. Inspired by the Las Vegas and Denver exhibitions, we explored vaporwave, retro-digital and sci-fi aesthetics to create an experience that felt familiar yet unexpected, pushing interactions while capturing Meow Wolf’s subversive spirit.
Below are a few of the early visual explorations I produced.
Exploration for a radio applet , playing Meow Wolf related music and sounds. Users would be able to unlock new audio by discovering frequencies around each exhibit. Several early ideas we explored for applets on the MeOw-S.
One of the first applets we settled on was the Gyre. A video based piece found at Convergence Station.
Gyre is presented in exhibition as an intercom for an apartment/tenement building for 2,306,490,360,608 “unlisted residents” and 29 who are listed in the intercom directory.
Using the intercom with the correct directory code ‘connects’ you to one of the residents where you can then take a peek into their world.
We wanted to mimic Gyre’s interactivity and visual style as closely as we could on mobile. Therefore we created a skeuomorphic representation of the intercom and replicated the display into the mobile UX to serve the same video content to the app’s users.
We also collaborated with the Meow Wolf team using Bluetooth beacons that connected the art and world to the app.
Both teams collaborated closely to seamlessly integrate the app’s smart functionality with Meow Wolf’s artistic vision and concepts.
Together, we developed the Psychic Sensor. As visitors explore the space, they receive discovery tips on how to interact, along with backstory about characters and world-building lore, creating a more immersive, visitor-driven experience.
Another immediate success we felt we could help rectify was the ticketing system. We witnessed first hand during our visit some of the issues users faced on entry, particularly for larger group bookings.
However, the introduction of the mobile app provided a much-needed solution. The app allowed visitors to easily access and share (group bookings) their tickets, bypassing the need for physical tickets or manual check-ins. It streamlined the experience by offering quick entry, real-time updates, and helpful navigation features, ultimately improving the overall visitor experience and reducing the stress caused by the ticketing challenges.
