Lunchtime Talks are a series of informal presentations at Watershed's Pervasive Media Studio. They normally take place at 13:00 on a Friday, are free and are open to everybody who is interested in what they do. Come along, bring a sandwich, and get to know more about the Studio community, current and up-coming projects, or residents' work.

Have you ever said "yes" to mean 'certainly not'? How often does "no, it's fine" mean that it most certainly isn't-bloody-fine? Tone of voice can often communicate much more than the words that we're saying, and it's a crucial part of being a good conversational partner. But most people that use speech synthesis don't have any control over their tone of voice, a frequent cause of misunderstandings and assumptions of emotional or intellectual impairment. How might we restore some control to them? Six Speaking Chairs by Graham Pullin & Andrew Cook is a project that explores this question through some radical and unashamedly ridiculous interfaces.

Even more than being about speech, though, this is a project about interaction design. It takes a complex design challenge as a starting point and uses it as an excuse to test ideas about form and interaction, materiality and perception. Andrew will introduce the project and discuss the ideas that lie at its heart, and continue to define his work across interaction, product and graphic design.

The Pervasive Media Studio is located within the Watershed building. Let us know if you'd like a tour and we'll be happy to show you around. Send an email to admin@pmstudio.co.uk

---