Hey all,

 

Just thought I would share the new Google UX I see when switching email accounts.

 

 

What do you all think in general?

Yeah finally saw it this morning and thought my resolution had gone funny on my monitor

I really like the way google is keeping a majorly widespread network of websites consistant

Absolutely! Something they've never really been good at before now.

 

Waiting for YouTube to get the top bar now

Absolutely! Something they've never really been good at before now.

 

Waiting for YouTube to get the top bar now

 

Good shout, bring YouTube in line will be awesome...I acually Love Google lol

Hasn't YouTube just been revamped? Can't imagine they'd do it to a similar style. I like it...

 

P.S Sorry to be a pedant, but UX means user experience, I think you just meant design

Hasn't YouTube just been revamped? Can't imagine they'd do it to a similar style. I like it...

 

P.S Sorry to be a pedant, but UX means user experience, I think you just meant design

 

Yeah they've revamped it to bring it to a similar style to other Google products however it does still lack the top bar and i doubt it will be added.

 

I'm going to try and create a special forum badge for you because as of late you've been ridiculously pedantic about EVERYTHING! Failing the creation of a badge i'll just hit you up a warn level every time

 

He may have meant UX anyway as login in is an experience.

Haha. I'm only pulling his leg, really

Can I have a forum bagde lol Google 1 hahaha

Consistency is nice, but I think Google dropped the ball on this one.

 

Before the change, the blue login box added some color and naturally drew attention. Now it's just bland.

Even worse, it is consistently bland.

 

They're also getting rid on product logos on the login pages. Half the fun was to see the tiny changes to the regular Google logo; all gone now.

 

The worst thing is that any time Google makes changes (be it Youtube, Google Chrome or the login page), they are shoved down your throat with no choice. It would be relatively easy to retain old style sheets for people who want them, but they're choosing not to listen to their customers time and time again.

 

That's enough ranting from me. I'll go back to coding my website. Perhaps I can code my own stylesheet to fix things at some point.

The worst thing is that any time Google makes changes (be it Youtube, Google Chrome or the login page), they are shoved down your throat with no choice. It would be relatively easy to retain old style sheets for people who want them, but they're choosing not to listen to their customers time and time again.

 

Respectably disagree totally on this.

When you say they ignore their customers time and time again, you're referring to a certain group of customers. Where another group are quite happy with the changes. You can't please everyone all the time. To please one group is to displease another.

 

Also regarding customer choice. Yes it would be relatively easy to offer up changes but where do you draw the line? If, let's say, the post office change their branding. Who am i to say i preferred their old logo and colour and demand that i use that. It's counter productive and goes against everything laid down in branding guidelines.

 

Of course as you said, the people in the know can style it using user styles and have whatever look they want and Google knows this.

The worst thing is that any time Google makes changes (be it Youtube, Google Chrome or the login page), they are shoved down your throat with no choice. It would be relatively easy to retain old style sheets for people who want them, but they're choosing not to listen to their customers time and time again.

 

I disagree.

 

It would be technically easy but when you are the size of Google then platform consistency is absolute priority and that reaches all the way down to day to day usage of 1 service. Allowing customization allows for people mistakingly altering their experience and with billions of views every day that could be devastating.

 

It comes down a fundamental difference in the way people like you and I browse the web and everyone else.

 

We understand what buttons are. We know how links work, we know the action we wish to take. So when we scan a page we are looking for an action. I want to Send this email so I will scan the page looking for anything that will accomplish that.

 

Normal people are different. They scan pages looking for visual elements they remember. Last time they sent an email they clicked a big grey button in this area that had an arrow on it. Same reason old people call Internet Explorer 'The Blue E' . They don't care to understand it's a program with its own name and what you see is just a shortcut and icon. To them the entire experience is 'The Blue E'. Delete that icon from their desktop and they would assume it's gone completely off their computer.

 

If you let people use custom themes they can accidentally change their experience, get frustrated and blame Google for it.

 

This where Apple's genius is. They understand how normal people operate computers. If only 10% of the users are going to ever use a feature they take it out entirely. It's not worth the other 90% accidentally turning it on and not understanding why their device is different.

 

'Course this big sweeping change across Google is going to hurt too. For the same reason letting people change their own theme would. People will get lost. However Google are in control of it, they can show notices, they can explain the changes, they can guide people around to the new stuff. They can create tutorials/how to's that work for everyone because they know for sure what everyone is looking at. Slowly they'll get everyone onto the new system, which is better for people new to it and will last them for many years to come.

 

TLDR; 95% of the web browsing public are idiots who don't pay any attention to what they are actually doing. Changing one button from green to blue makes them freak out, get lost, get angry, assume you've stopped providing the service they want and goes somewhere else that is by far a ****tier service, but it has green buttons.

Edited September 16, 201115 yr by Glowbridge

Google posted some answers to my questions, but unfortunately, they're full of marketing speak. Besides that I had to click through multiple links to get there and once the yellow banner is gone, most people wouldn't be able to find the page at all.

 

Of course, you can't please everyone, but what bugs me most is that by the time I can comment on any changes, they're already irreversible. I want to share my thoughts when they still matter rather than be the person who whines after the fact. For example: they say "With the design changes in the coming weeks and months, we’re bringing forward the stuff that matters to you and getting all the other clutter out of your way." There is no way for me to know if the clutter they mention is one of the features I rely upon on a daily basis or if it is some random thing I never even noticed.

 

A little bit more communication would go a long way.

Google posted some answers to my questions, but unfortunately, they're full of marketing speak. Besides that I had to click through multiple links to get there and once the yellow banner is gone, most people wouldn't be able to find the page at all.

 

Of course, you can't please everyone, but what bugs me most is that by the time I can comment on any changes, they're already irreversible. I want to share my thoughts when they still matter rather than be the person who whines after the fact. For example: they say "With the design changes in the coming weeks and months, we’re bringing forward the stuff that matters to you and getting all the other clutter out of your way." There is no way for me to know if the clutter they mention is one of the features I rely upon on a daily basis or if it is some random thing I never even noticed.

 

A little bit more communication would go a long way.

 

I mean no ill on you but you're seeing this from a very me me me perspective still.

 

The features that matter most refers to the feedback they have received from the majority.

I'm afraid majority rules and for good reason too.

 

There are many many ways to communicate with Google regarding the future of their products. Every product has it's own group regarding improvements and comments which is staffed by Google employees. Let's not forget that every product has it's own blog as well, again, staffed by Google employees who are more than happy to discuss improvements and gripes.

Let's also not forget that every service you use, that's not an online service, has an anonymous data collection option (which many people turn off and then moan that their voice hasn't been heard... :/).

 

Last but no means least, Google have quite an in-depth BETA testing cycle which you can get in to if you have the time to take out of your day.

I guess being one of those quirky different guys has its downsides. I rarely belong in the majority group. Ah well, I guess I should keep my eyes open and get myself involved in betas. What do you think is the best way to get informed of such things in time?