Ebert...Roper...Sutcliffe?

That's right folks I'm a critic this time!

MUAHAHAHAHA!
MUAHAHAHAHA!
MUAHAHAHAHA!

...ahem...

Yes I critiqued the ANTIP project done by Charles, Todd and Yosuke so here goes...

Immediate response – Class loved the interaction and everyone enjoyed participating; smiles and screaming into cups were seen all over!

Surprise – I think we were all surprised by the sounds coming through and what seemed to be going to different cups and not to ours.

Patterns – Visually the pattern of the network resembled a web as networks most often do

Change over time – Absolutely; had a lot to do with exploring the interaction and testing the physical structure

Variance – Again had a lot to do with experimenting with the physical structure and variance was indeed a large element in the project; plucking the strings, clipping into the network in a different area, pulling the string tighter, all elements seemed variable except for quality of sound…limited by material and shouldn’t be penalized AT ALL for that!

Because I did enjoy the project I want to get the negative aspect of the critique out of the way first…I was confused as to why the concept was portrayed in so many lights. First it was called a chat room, then it was stated to be a potential museum installation. I was a little perplexed about this and I myself saw it as more of an IDEO physical enactment of a VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) network for example. I had a real problem with their chart of the concept because it continues the (in my opinion) misleading of the participant. By terming the cup w/string a “chat device” it still appears as though the primary interaction has to do with chatting over the “network” of strings. Everything refers to the presentation as a chat with talking devices. I don’t mean to imply that they came up with the musical aspect to replace the “chatting” aspect as the presentation happened, but their pre-made supporting documentation and intro speech seem to indicate this COULD be true. I feel the project would have benefited from more testing with a larger group without a doubt, but the group did a good job overall. In the future I would recommend spending less time on attention to detail until the larger aspects of the project are fine tuned first.

Now moving on…

I still feel that the interaction was successful! For one it was fun and I believe you should have fun with your schoolwork. Charles, Todd and Yosuke not only had fun exploring their interaction concepts but provided a fun interaction for the entire class to participate in. I also feel as though it would have been very difficult to figure out that the network was more successful as an exploratory/physical/musical/experimental interaction more than a “conceptual chat” interaction without having a large test group such as the class. I don’t believe that there is anything wrong with learning about your interaction during your presentation. It also seemed like they had answers for my questions about the vibrations and material design. For example Todd was able to field my question about whether the paper clip was a design consideration for symbolizing logging in/out of the network or if it actually had an effect on the quality of sound. There’s really nothing wrong with pitching your concept as one thing and finding it to be more successful as another once you are able to test it with the focus group necessary to explore this. I saw their group practice the “chat” aspect with three people and it was clear they experimented with plucking the strings at the time. I just think that they overlooked how the presentation was made in terms of pitching the “talking device” and “chat” ideas.

I felt like the teamwork was evident in the presentation and this is important. They appeared to genuinely have an interest in each other and each team member had an important role in the presentation. I felt they did an excellent job in this area. The presentation as a whole was quite good. As an entire project from beginning to end I think it was a success! A critics input at an earlier stage would have been beneficial as it would have been to each group’s. I believe first and foremost the piece got everyone involved, didn’t get enough credit for the visually stimulating physical presentation of a network (my favorite part by the way), and most importantly everyone had a great time. Charles, Todd and Yosuke did a great job, I enjoyed this unique insight into the structure of a network. Well done guys!