TV is dead, long live TV! — Crafting compelling living room experiences

For decades, the most advanced technology in our living rooms has been the television, a fairly unsophisticated device. But over the past several years, we’ve seen an explosion of high-performance consoles, streaming devices, and most recently, voice assistants, enter our homes. Designers now find themselves faced with a range of hardware, inputs, and evolving user behaviors.

So, how do we make sense of it all? How can we utilize the TV, a ubiquitous yet often neglected piece of hardware, and design beyond just streaming our favorite show? And how can we design technology that supports rather than disrupts behavior in our homes?

This talk will explore the quickly evolving and often disconnected ecosystem of our living rooms. We’ll begin with a historical overview of technology in the space, dissect the current, highly competitive hardware landscape, and explore the cultural factors that shape our use of this technology. Armed with this knowledge, we’ll consider new perspectives and approaches for crafting functional and compelling user experiences for the living room.