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Google Home 2016


Google Home 2016
Google Home 2016

Designers: Jung Tak, Kristen Beck, Amy Martin, Michael Sundermeyer, Micah Collins, Phil Ly, and Robert Ros, Google, Mountain View, California, USA
Manufacturer: Google Inc., Mountain View, California, USA


Google Home 2016
Google Home 2016

Project Description

Google Home is a voice-activated speaker powered by the Google Assistant. Just start by saying, Ok Googleto enjoy music, get answers straight from Google, manage your everyday tasks, and easily control smart devices around the home. With customizable bases and thoughtful design, it fits any home. People can't always grab a phone, open a laptop, or boot up a PC. Sound and speech can carry instructions and information even if line of sight is obscured and our hands are full. Google Home provides access to music, media, and other digital technologies without the need for visual attention or physical handling – eyes-free and hands-free. Because this is new tech, introducing voice as the primary interface along with the concept of an always-on, passively listening device, it could be potentially alarming. Google Home intentionally addresses these issues through its product design and user experience. Google Home is designed to blend in, more like a small piece of furniture. The angled top housing gesture is intended to give the object a directionality that feels like it’s listening. Unlike similar assistant products on the market, Google home has no visible buttons or controls on the front of the device. The user interface is controlled with capacitive touch allowing for an uninterrupted silhouette. This intentional minimizing of traditional affordance also encourages people to use their voice. The use of fabric softens technology and speaks to acoustic performance. With bases available in seven colors, you can make Google Home fit with any space and decor.

Everyone expects Google to nail software. What isn't always expected is for Google to excel with design. Yet, that's just what happened with Google Home. The industry was pleasantly surprised, and very complimentary, with the look and design of the Google Home. It was less about tech being housed in a black box, and more about delivering the Google Assistant in a thoughtful design that compliments the home. This didn't happen by coincidence, it was a joint effort across the Google Hardware team - software and hardware coming together to expand the idea of how technology could take residence front in center. No longer relegated to being useful, but not seen. It was designed to become a part of the home, a celebrated addition. Voice as an interface is more accessible to everyone. You don’t need technical skills to interact with a voice user interface, you just need to speak. By pairing voice with this friendly form, Google Home makes the power of search and the Assistant more available for everyone in the home.