Google home mini is a smart speaker with the Google Assistant built in. It is able to recognize the user’s voice. The users are able to get the answers to the weather, traffic, finance, sports and etc from it. It will also help with the user’s schedule and reminders. Google home mini can be connected to other smart devices such as Philips Hue lightbulb, and Apps like Spotify and YouTube. Our homes can be controlled and monitored by voice with Google Assistant App and those smart-home gadgets.
Google home mini is not just designed to be functional but also to fit in the mood of our homes. The Google home mini is about the size of our palm, which takes very little space and fits seamlessly into our living environment. The circular shape of Google home mini creates harmony as circles are considered as a complete and perfect shape and many natural elements are in the shape of circle, such as the planets. Google home mini is available in Chalk(grey fabric & white plastic), Charcoal(black), and Coral(a pinkish colour). Different colours can create different moods, and atmosphere. Grey is the shade between white and black which is a neutral colour that represents balance. The Chalk mini gives a clean and neutral look with grey and white. Further, Black is often associated with power, strength, elegance, and authority. Having a small portion of black accessories at home can make the whole interior looks sophisticated and classy. Charcoal mini would be a good choice is someone wants to add some elegant element to their homes. Moreover, Coral is Pantone’s 2019 color of the year. Pantone described Living Coral as a color of carefree happiness. A press release says it “symbolizes our innate need for optimism and joyful pursuits”—a feeling that, perhaps, people might be craving in today’s landscape. A tint of coral might be able to make our living environment more lively. Lastly, the choice of materials brings out the home accent of Google home mini. The top of it is wrapped by woven fabric while the base is cover with hard plastic casing. Home is where we want to have comfort, and that is probably the reason why almost 80% of it is covered with soft fabric. The Fabric surface is also touchable when the user interacts with the device.
All in all, despite the controversy of the Google Home Assistant Speaker, I would like to place it at the middle of the diagram. It is because of the good balance among its functionality, human factors, and emotion. It is a device that provides smart home solutions, increase user’s efficiency, and it is also designed to evoke comfortable home feelings.
References
https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/living-coral-is-pantones-2019-color-of-the-year/
https://blog.hubspot.com/hubfs/google_assistant_20_things.gif