Divorce rates are on the rise in Singapore. Although millennials are spending more time searching for suitable partners, marriages have instead become increasingly short-lived. This worrying trend could be attributed to the shift in marriage expectations in modern society. Rather than marrying for socio-economic reasons, the younger cohorts are settling for romantic love instead. Such a notion could place unrealistic expectations on marriages that might result in disappointment and unhappiness when couples are put to the test of the daily grind after tying the knot, eventually leading to marriage dissolutions.

In a survey conducted, majority of couples felt that marriage preparation should begin as soon as couples are dating with marriage in mind. On the other hand, marriage counsellors have advised that the most ideal period to attend formal pre-marital preparation programmes is a year before the marriage. Hence, a need for more informal marriage preparation resources is identified. However, there are limited varieties of, and accessibility to, such resources in Singapore.

As such, One True Pairing is a card game targeted at millennial couples who are dating with marriage in mind, that aims to promote informal conversations surrounding marital expectations early on in their relationships, in the hopes of better preparing them for a lifetime together.

The title was inspired by a millennial slang commonly used to describe the most popular fictional couples. When one says, ‘the ship has set sail’, it means that a new relationship has just begun, or a new romance has just blossomed. ‘Ship’ in this instance is the shortening of the word ‘relationship’. When one says, “I ship this couple”, the ‘ship’ here then refers to rooting for the couple. OTP is the pinnacle of all ships. Thus, the final key visual which features a ship made of food was settled upon.  

1. They are pop culture symbols representative of millennials (The Avocado Generation) 

2. They are also known as avocado pears, which makes a playful pun on couples (pairs) 

3. They are genderless; their colours are not suggestive of any particular gender