The Sprochs
'The Sprochs' are interactive deliverers of special messages that require time, patience and interaction in order to release their message.
The current pervasiveness of communication devices and their services has led to an unprecedented flood of messages.
Every day we text, tweet, FaceTime, Facebook, e-mail – and sometimes even talk.
Against this background, the limitations of a written letter – and the thought that flows into indelible ink on paper – have become a thing of the past. Back in the analog age, knowing that a message was on the way, yet still in transit, was associated with patience and pleasant anticipation.
A sensation now replaced by a stream of unlimited in-the-moment messages; by the knowledge that we can send and receive whatever we like, whenever we like, and read or hear the results straight away.
The characters of the Sprochs
The Sprochs, a range of keychain-sized characters, investigate how contemporary technologies can recapture this spirit. Designed to record a single message to that special someone, they explore how a physical manifestation of a digital message can recall that elusive, yet tangible appeal of a written letter as a physical object transmitting a message.
To heighten anticipation, the recipient cannot simply play the sealed recording, yet needs to apply affection and care to coax the message out of their Sproch. The more attention their little creature receives, the faster it gets used to its new “owner” and the more willing it becomes to divulge the special missive.
A Sproch releasing it's message
Neglect, on the other hand, causes it to clam up. Warmed by human interaction and emotions, the Sproch finally opens up, releases its message – and gets ready for re-recording and a new recipient
A tangible measure to re-humanize communications in the digital age, the Sprochs require us to be mindful and focus our attention – countering throwaway exchanges by recharging a message with its true meaning.
