I actually really like the new look of Blogger. I adapted quickly to the change and have begun using certain features that I wasn't even aware of before. It's easier to manage posts and navigate blog entries. Overall, I like the change—and that's coming from someone who hates change.
As for Gmail, I have been using the "new look" for at least a week and still hate it. This has gone beyond my usual dislike of change and into the realm of being a disoriented user. There are certain changes that are subtly annoying from a design standpoint, but the ones that really annoy me are the changes that have gotten in my way as a user.
STARS VS. TAGS (A)
Whereas previously the "starred" and "important" icons were separate, they are now located next to each other. I star messages that contain important information or require a response. Most messages I receive are marked with the "important" tag, which is inconveniently the same color as the starred icon. The process of visually sorting through my mail has changed. I can no longer rely on the color yellow to point me towards my more important messages—that is, unless I go through individually and "click it off".
LACK OF CONTRAST (B)
The contrast between a messages' subject line, text preview, and background color has gone down drastically. The horizontal line that separates messages has been inverted to white, which makes me feel like my inbox is a chaotic mess of text. The way the text is now displayed makes me feel like I'm staring at a pile of unorganized papers.
HIGHLINE (C)
This one is more on the nit-picky side. The horizontal line is riding way too high and suffocating the word OUT.
IT'S A LINK! (D)
Also on the nit-picky side, the new advertisement bar is chunkier and has that dated blue & underlined link look. I like how before, on the old Gmail, the ad bar was a part of the design. It held together your messages and stemmed from the inbox link. The design made sense and was functional.
ALL ABOUT ME (E)
Surprisingly enough, here's a change for the better. I like that my "Sacha Maxim bar" at the very top has been given a darker, more contrasted treatment. Whereas before I was pretty unaware of it, I now use it to get to my other Google applications.
MORE ICONS (F)
Finally, I dislike the move made towards icons and away from text links. Some of the icons aren't intuitive and are only displayed once a message has been selected. It's oversimplifying actions that I want to be able to get to quickly. There's nothing I hate more than having to hover over a link to figure out what it is.
Overall, the main problem I see with this redesign is that it's too simplified. It looks washed out and pale in comparison to it's earlier days. The goal of an inbox is to provide order and structure to one of the busiest channels of communication. Simplify the foundation of that structure too much and you lose that sense of order.
No comments:
Post a Comment