I had the opportunity to attend Google I/O this year! I have never been to I/O nor have I really understood all the hype around it, why it is so expensive, why such a big deal or large event. Now I know why, though many past attendees have mentioned it was so much better in previous years. The multi-day event was set up like a festival, all outdoors at the Shoreline Amphitheater, with large tents and demo hubs that people can hang out at or check out Google’s latest innovations. It definitely wasn’t fun lining up in the hot sun, waiting for an hour, only to be turned away due to capacity limits. I can see why attendees were angry or frustrated knowing that the conference ticket costs nearly $1000 per person. I didn’t mind it too much because it was paid for by my employer, and I was just caught up on the novelty of it all.
The event is targeted for engineers and developers so I felt I didn’t really belong (as a designer), but it was really cool and fascinating to essentially have a front row seat to “brand new to the world” technologies and be able to experience new or beta software firsthand. I particularly appreciate how Google values accessibility and empathy- there was quite a large section dedicated to that topic showcasing accessible apps such as Wayfindr, Voice Access, and other apps that use VR to invoke empathy. Checking out the demo areas and attending several sessions, it really made me ponder on the differences, pros, and cons of working for a technology company versus a product company.
Anyway, I took a bunch of analog notes in a notebook that I had planned on typing up, but in all honesty, most of the sessions were so developer focused that I had a hard time understanding or keeping up. There’s plenty of publicity and articles written about the new and shiny things Google has revealed at this year’s I/O, and they certainly covered it all in great detail. Some key takeaways for me, and things that peaked my interest in terms of how I should think about designing for the future are:
Utilization of Voice - With the big reveal of Google Home, it is becoming more and more clear that the first step toward more AI in the future is using voice as an additional human sensory that can be used alongside devices for better assistance and convenience.
Push Notifications - The notion of “having the user’s back” at the right place and right time is the key to better success metrics and better user engagement. With Firebase, it seems anyone can write their own notifications through a simple UI interface with very little barriers.
Physical Web - Bridging between physical and digital, beacons broadcasting URL, touching things in the real world such as a bus schedule poster, then viewing more info in a display right then and there, or at the very least on your phone.
Virtual Reality - VR has long been associated with gaming, but the power of being able to be immersed into an alternative reality has proven to be beneficial in contributing to the future of education. Some of the examples that the session leads gave was enabling underserved kids to visit places nearby that they cannot get to, experiencing historical moments such as Chernobyl, March on Washington, Hiroshima via rich overlays, evoking historical settings, engaging students in math via shapes they can see not just conceptually on paper, but through the VR lens, etc.
Thank you for the opportunity, Intuit and Google!
Here’s some photos I captured: