In March 2020, I organized my graduating exhibition at the AMD Akademie Mode & Design in Munich and one thing led to another: Prof. Katharina Klug, an expert in digital communication (e.g. chatbot communication and affective computing) and also my lecturer for marketing, heard about VUI.agency and our work in the field of voice user interface design and the holistic design. It turned out that the upcoming winter semester was perfect for developing a joint workshop with the “Innovation Management & Design (B.A.)” 3rd-semester students.

In October 2020, the project started with a guest lecture held by VUI.agency’s co-founder Patrick Esslinger on the topic of “Virtual Assistants – the Future of Brand Identity?”

A counter question. What added value do you create if you develop a product that, in the end, does not meet the needs of your customers in any way? And all this only because you missed out on looking at current trends and the resulting future developments ahead. Working with future scenarios is all about anticipating the future. Naming and describing it and in this way opening up the space to think about things in a new way.

Students always need concrete, specific tasks – but innovation managers usually do not work this way. Ideally, they devote themselves to large tasks so that they are not biased and thus limited in their thinking right from the start. The necessary “downsizing” and shaping of the respective project is carried out independently based on the research conducted, with the steps of insight being presented in a meaningful argumentation. The point is to show: How did I arrive at this conclusion? That is why we – meaning Ray, our Senior Voice / AI Experience Architect, and I from VUI.agency and Prof. Katharina Klug from AMD – designed the workshop to be practical and realistic, even at the risk of throwing the students into the deep end initially.

To be successful as an innovation designer or manager and to be able to assess current and future developments, it is important to be open to new topics and methods, and to the holistic design approach. Initially, the students were critical of the field of voice technology, especially with the aspect of protecting the users’ privacy. Despite their initial reluctance, we managed to convey one of the core values of VUI.agency to the students during the project: by working as an innovation designer, you have the chance to actively shape the future and thus help to shape it the way you want it to be.

A piece of one’s own personality is often found in much of what designers create. Here, the particular form of the design activity does not play a role. Heart and soul, dedication, and one’s own creativity are represented. Under these circumstances, how do you separate your professional and private life? It is important to realize that constructive feedback is always a gift and criticism is not an attack on a personal level, but purely work-related and important for personal growth. As well as, incorporating different perspectives always leads to a result that is more holistic and multi-layered than the original idea.

The challenges this question poses, the further questions it raises, and the far-reaching research required for a meaningful answer must be taken into account when developing the prototypes. As a first step, the students put on their “future voice agency glasses” and looked at the world and at voice user interface design through that perspective. What already exists – what does the world of voice look like today? Which trends can they identify, and what will everything look like in 2050?

We were curious. The students are a target group with exciting views. We wanted to hear their fresh opinions, still “untouched” by the working world, and be inspired by them. How do these young people encounter voice technologies and voice user interface design? At the same time, we wanted to pass on knowledge and highlight the opportunities voice offers.

We are honored and inspired to incorporate the results of this workshop into our own work and would like to thank everyone involved for the great collaboration and for joining us for this innovation exercise. 

Would you like to learn more about the components of a successful voice strategy for your own voice user interface? Reach out at us and discover our services.