By Laurie Chartorynsky, The Toy Association
From motivational speakers to brand experts to tech designers, the new PlayCon, The Toy Association’s International Conference of Play Professionals, keeps adding to its impressive line-up of speakers that will make the event unlike any other toy industry conference. Recently, show organizers announced that Victoria Fang, Google’s UX (user experience) design lead for the tech company’s new kid-friendly features, will share leading-edge insight on emerging technologies during a special presentation at the May 8 to 9 conference in San Francisco, CA.
PlayCon will feature more than a dozen thought-leaders, industry analysts, toy influencers, consumer product executives, and other speakers who will lead short “TED Talk”-like sessions, delivering ideas as diverse as their professional backgrounds.
During her presentation, “Google Assistant for Kids & Families: Conversation, AI, and Play,” Fang will highlight more than 50 games, stories, and activities tailored to kids and families recently introduced on Google Assistant, its virtual personal assistant app which can engage in two-way conversations and is primarily available on mobile and smart home devices, including Google Home. PlayCon attendees will learn about Google’s processes for the initiative, and why the tech giant is excited about the future of kids and play.
Fang has been with Google since 2015. As the UX lead for Google’s Assistant for Kids & Families team, she leads a team of designers and writers dedicated to making kids’ experiences with Google more intuitive and meaningful. Fang has worked for companies including Intel Labs and Frog Design. She has been focused on the kid’s space for the last five years, with projects spanning kid’s coding, Maker initiatives, and robots.
“With the theme #PlayForward, the new PlayCon is looking to take knowledge from the biggest thinkers in business today and share it with the toy community – information that will be available to them all in one place,” said Marian Bossard, The Toy Association’s executive vice president of global market events. “Exclusive tips from Google will no doubt help attendees take their businesses to the next level. We are ecstatic to have Victoria Fang join us at PlayCon.”
For a list of up-to-date speakers, registration, hotel information, and other news about PlayCon, visit www.ToyAssociation.org/PlayCon.