Ivy Ross judges Wallpaper* Design Awards 2021 Ivy Ross judges Wallpaper* Design Awards 2021 Ivy Ross, the vice president of design for hardware at Google, on the challenges of designing during a pandemic, and her thoughts on our annual Wallpaper* Design Award honours Ivy Ross photographed via Zoom. Photography: Larry Fink 2020 is likely to be henceforth known as the year we all brought our workplaces home with us. With this came the challenges of establishing a new work-life balance, re-evaluating our relationship with technology, and maintaining the human-to-human connection online, which everyone will continue to navigate in 2021 and beyond. Ivy Ross, the vice president of design for hardware at Google, knows all about treading the line between technology and the human experience. Since forming the department in 2016, Ross has led her team to launch and establish Google’s family of consumer hardware products, which have collectively earned over 125 global design awards. From the Google Pixel smartphones – its fifth (and most recent) iteration is waterproof and packs in more technology and a better camera than before, at a more affordable price point – to the Nest line of speakers that boasts high quality sound with intuitive smart capabilities, Google’s product suite not only gives the competition a run for its money, but is distinctive in its bold, tactile and emotional design too.