The Metaverse. Design in Reverse
On October 28, 2021 Facebook changed the parent company’s name to Meta, signaling a shift in focus and future direction. It also went on a massive hiring spree. 18 months later the Metaverse is falling far short of it’s ambitions and the hype. Type “metaverse is empty” into a search engine and articles like this one will populate the results: Mark Zuckerberg’s metaverse is getting slammed in internal documents: ‘An empty world is a sad world (Fortune)
The design of the metaverse is an ongoing iterative process that will advance and unfold as the technology becomes more advanced. (They’re still working on adding legs to the floating avatars). But as technologists, designers and the general public imagine what this virtual future might look like there is an equally powerful design process happening. The imaginings of this possible virtual world are influencing the way we are reimagining our present physical world.
Visual examples :
Doja Cat. 2023 Met Gala
Jared Leto as Karl Lagerfelds cat Choupette. 2023 Met Gala
Miss Universe Competition 2022: Miss Guatemala Ivana Batchelor
Diplo in MSCHF (Astro Boy inspired) red boots