Here’s the World-Class Designer Google Just Hired to Save Glass

Google has been putting a lot of effort into making Google Glass seem like a fashionable device and not a vaguely creepy gadget for geeks. The wholesome Mother’s Day ad was a solid first step. Now, the company is handing the reins to a master designer and marketer who will be tasked with making Glass appealing to the masses.

Ivy Ross, a former executive at Mattel, Disney and Calvin Klein, will be heading up the Google Glass project starting next week. Ross knows how to design products that people actually want to buy—at Mattel, she led design for all girls’ toys worldwide. Unlike Glass, though, Barbie has never been banned from bars or gotten anyone assaulted (to my knowledge).

Ross addressed the polarizing nature of Google’s latest device in a Google+ post announcing her new role. “I look forward to answering the seemingly simple, but truly audacious questions Glass poses: Can technology be something that frees us up and keeps us in the moment, rather than taking us out of it?” she wrote.

Google is gearing up to release Glass as a widely available consumer product soon. Though the device is technically still in beta, it’s on sale on Google’s website while supplies last.