Designing for Voice: Alexa, Google Assistant, and beyond

About this presentation

There are few places where design is less evident than when you use a voice user interface, like the Amazon Echo or the Google home. But as anyone who has used Alexa or the Google Assistant knows, it's painfully obvious when a voice based experience is not designed well. You go nowhere, fast. It's the equivalent of a 404 page, but somehow more personally frustrating. As a former voice designer for Alexa, and a current voice designer for the Google Assistant, I would like to talk about the ins and outs of designing for an eyes-free experience. What is voice design? What does it look like? Why is it important? What happens when you do it well? And what happens when it's not designed at all.