The Exploratorium is the San Francisco public learning laboratory which explores the world through science, art, and human perception. COLLINS was invited by the Exploratorium to reimagine After Dark: their popular, adults-only Thursday evening event series.

The campaign, titled “See for Yourself,“ uses an Op-Art aesthetic (taking inspiration from the original Exploratorium logo) and positions After Dark as a unique experience that is simultaneously thought-provoking and stimulating: alluding to the altered perception and sensorial states it offers visitors through its 650 interactive exhibits. Showcasing optical illusions, provocative language, warped typography, experimental motion graphics and a black and white palette, the campaign creates a new visual language by re-contextualizing the spirit of historical graphics and exhibitions from the Exploratorium archives.

Launched in the Fall of 2017, the new campaign has helped enable the Exploratorium to charge a premium for After Dark tickets while both increasing attendance and reaching target goals for its new-to-market After Dark membership offer. By speaking to the immersive, transformative experience the Exploratorium provides and the independent, critical thought it inspires, the campaign helped to shed light on After Dark's unique offer to an eager San Francisco audience.