BarTalk is is a cutting-edge entertainment installation for your bar, club, or business. This groundbreaking social software allows participants to send text messages and photos from their cell phones to big-screen displays in your establishment. BarTalk can be used for general social interaction, or can be customized for contests, drink and food orders, song requests, and more.

How it works

Users send a text or picture mail from their phones to a customized address (e.g. mybar@bartalk.org). The most recent message is then displayed on a big-screen display installed in your bar or club. (Displays can be set up as part of the installation package or you can use existing television sets as BarTalk displays.) In addition, all messages are archived on a custom blog for posterity.

Who we are

Alexis Lloyd is a multimedia designer and information architect with extensive experience in both educational and commercial projects. She has played a lead role in the creative and technical development of numerous award-winning new media projects for Columbia University, New York University, News Corporation, and the BBC, among others. These projects have included online courses, museum kiosks, interactive learning tools, e-journals, and educational websites.  She is currently working towards an MFA in Design and Technology at Parsons School of Design.

Shaun Rance is a graphic and multimedia designer. He has worked with the Seattle-based new media group Spaceboat TV producing live video at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Experience Music Project, and Consolidated Works Contemporary Art Center. Shaun is currently pursuing his MFA in Design + Technology at Parsons School of Design where he is focusing on interaction design and motion graphics. He has worked closely with arts organizations such as Consolidated Works (Seattle), The Constant Theater (Portland), Classic Stage Company (NY), Dance Theatre Etcetera (NY), The Kitchen (NY), and others providing affordable design solutions and technology consultation. His more recent projects consisted of set design for an award winning NY Fringe production and interactive media design for the Dodeska Performance Ensemble.

Ana Velez is a graphic and information designer. She has worked in the field of signage and graphic identity for diverse cultural institutions in Colombia. She has also worked as a motion graphic designer for the advertising company Pato Feo Films and has developed graphic design and multimedia projects as a freelance designer. For the past 3 years she led the signage and identity projects for the Museum of Colonial Art, the Luis Angel Arango Library, the National Museum of Colombia and the Gold Museum, all of which are located in Bogota. Ana is currently working towards an MFA in Design and Technology at Parsons School of Design, where she is focusing on interaction and web design and the development of signage and information design projects through interactivity.