Google Changlings: Minimal is Beautiful
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In this past week, I've been able to see more design changes in Google more than I can ever remember to have seen in the past. Google is changing. And the change, is beautiful. This time Google seems very much focused on it's prime design motif- Minimal is beautiful. We've always seen Google's landing search page the minimalest thing ever possible way. Compare it to Yahoo! or any other search engine and you come to realize what makes it so damn successful (though it's not just design).
In these couple of days, Google's design theme has changed like anything, and except a few losers everyone seems to be loving it. Everything seems to be so formidable, so wonderful that you hate to take your eyes off it. First it was the global navbar, then the search and now it's Gmail. Google is ripping everything to the minimalest ever possible to make things much reasonable, effective, useful and finally "productive". I find everything worth the change. And I find one BIG reason associated with all of this- Google+.
Taking of the search, everything seems so lively and instantaneous that I simply can't stop myself from giving is a lusty stare. From Google Everything to Images and Videos and all, everything seems to have come so alive. The blue search button and the and the black and red of the sidebar seem to be really nice to the eyes.
Next, the mail, Gmail! Gmail has a fully reincarnated view as well. And believe me, it rocks. It has been so long since I ever over-reacted to this extent about anything (at least on my blog), but this one seems legitimate. It's fully ripped and it's beautiful. It takes less than a second to realize that I've one new email or similar stuff. The way the actions bar scrolls along with the message (just as it did in the mobile version) is nice as well. And it's utility savvy.
A great design makes no sense until it fully merges into your application to give you full control over the application. And that's what good design is all about. Bells and whistles come secondary. This is where Google seems to specialize. The third in the series Google+, Google's new social network, just like it's other applications sees a very nicely ripped and designed interface. The minimalism that has been incorporated into the application looks great. And this time I rate Google higher than facebook, at least, in terms of design (damn you Google for not sending me an invite yet). As I was talking of minimalism, Google+ comes in as a live example of the same. everything has been placed in only if it finds a high-end necessity at the place, else not.
All for the best. What do you think of Google's design spree? Is it the way Google tastes success or is it going to be yet another pitfall in Google's way? Record your responses in the comments section. Cheers! :)
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