In this project called Totality for Kids by Mckenzie Wark, the interface is set up as a slide show with mouseover pop-ops that allow the visitor to read more into a specific topic or statement.  It was very straightforward navigating through the site, as it was just a slideshow which would phase in and out of the new slides. I think the designer, Erik Loyer, intended for the interface to be child friendly as evidenced by the title and also because of the addition of the cartoons which make the slideshow look like a comic book.  Screen Shot 2015-11-22 at 7.09.04 PM

This is a picture of the first slide in the show and you can see the bubble text where you can read peoples’ short conversations with each other. There is also additional media unrelated to the conversations in order to give the reader additional context behind the Situationist International movement. This movement started in Post-War Paris and then transformed into the Lettrist International. The viewer also enjoys music from The Love Technology which adds to the overall ambience of the project.

I personally didn’t like the project as I was confused on what message was trying to be conveyed, and I think that might have been part of the design of the site so that it could attract more curiosity about what this array of photos and text was really about. However, even after reading all the way through I was still lost on the central message which is what made me dislike this project. The illustrations are captivating and mellow music is relaxing, but if the audience is having a hard time understanding what is being shown to them, then their is an inherent problem in the site. One reoccurring message was, “the only adventure is in contesting the totality.” Now I’m not exactly sure what the “totality” is referring to, but I got the impression that it could just mean government. Doing some of my own background research I learned about Post War Paris society a bit more and found out that their were groups who wanted to return to the old bourgeois culture and other groups who favored communistic ideals. Apparently the younger generation favored the communist ideas and tried to make them more mainstream, but their movement ultimately failed to the new neoliberal corporatism that gave rise after the World War II. Finally, I don’t think this was a very successful project because it left me in the dark about what message was being conveyed. You can find the site here: http://vectors.usc.edu/projects/index.php?project=99