smart home

How might a search engine provider create meaningful technologies for the home? Yandex invited Map to devise the best strategy for shaping new, immersive home experiences.

As the largest search engine provider in its marketplace, Yandex was looking to create new products for at-home experiences. To support this vision, we designed a range of screens and smart speakers built around Yandex’s virtual assistant, Alice.

Over two years, we partnered with Yandex’s in-house team to develop this family of products that reflected the Yandex brand and its desire to create technology that fits well into domestic environments. We defined a strategic brief, considering the users, context of use, and technical parameters to develop a new connected experience within the home — where a speaker is more than audio and a multi-use screen is more than entertainment. The research culminated in a set of design principles to shape the form, function, materials, and user interactions. A unique design language to carry forward into an ecosystem of connected products and services.

Alongside the form and function of the hardware, we collaborated with acoustic engineers to explore and refine the audio architecture to deliver the highest quality audio within a small footprint. We worked closely with Yandex to develop the physical representation of Alice, a voice assistant that supports users when needed, calmly activating through light and sound. The family of connected products is designed to work seamlessly in any home environment, becoming part of everyday life.