Working closely with one of Airbnb’s founders, we were invited to help translate an international study of hosts and guests into an exhibition for the Airbnb headquarters. The installation took quotes from a range of people’s experiences on the platform and made them into graphics arranged on a color gradient—from Fundamentally Misaligned (red/bad) to Identically Aligned (blue/boring). In the center lay a magenta-colored sweet spot—Perfectly Misaligned—indicating an experience that contained happy surprises and genuine personal connections.

The exhibition was installed in waves—starting with a single graphic and a wall of black arrows. Then, week-by-week, pieces began to pepper the walls in different formats—framed risograph and inkjet prints; images silkscreened directly on the wall; and hand-painted illustrations, until the wall was filled with stories. In support of the exhibition, we created related takeaways, including a book that comprehensively documented the research study and its outcomes.