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What I think of Google's new search results page

almost 4 years ago from , Designer

First they've introduced a horrible logo that would be perfect as an icon for toilet paper, if rotated 180°. Then a childish typeface that no professional typographer would ever dare to think of, and it takes far too much space on mobile, making it not only ugly but also impractical. The last move from the Google design team is to add icons to their search results page, I guess because the page looks too old fashioned for 2019, and not pretty enough? Could be, but it's cognitive overload every time that you filter results, without any real benefit. By adding plenty of high saturation colours that have nothing to do with one another, they've actually managed to make those icon look unpleasant to the eye, too. Just because it's the brand colours, you go against the most elemental principles of aesthetics?! Google is such an important tool, it would deserve a much more considered design. And because it's supposed to be as efficient as possible, this is just visual design done the wrong way, again and again. The Google interface looks like the perfect GUI for toddlers. #google #visualdesign

16 comments

  • J P, almost 4 years ago

    lol

    23 points
  • Vlad ShapochnikovVlad Shapochnikov, almost 4 years ago

    I think this comment belongs on yelp? Also, great use of hashtags.

    8 points
  • Jamie Diamond, almost 4 years ago

    k

    8 points
  • Alf SalibAlf Salib, almost 4 years ago

    The Google interface looks like the perfect GUI for toddlers

    This is the biggest compliment you can possibly give lol

    6 points
  • Mirza SadovicMirza Sadovic, almost 4 years ago

    I can see that your rant is fairly focused on the visual aspects of the changes, we have yet to hear the reasoning behind the decisions, so I can't really assume to know all the research involved in the changes.

    That said, note that the search result tabs/filters change depending on what you've searched. So now, when you look for, say, flights, the flights tab will be available for filtering, and with an airplane icon, it's immediately obvious to any user that they can click on that and view flights, whereas before they would have had to read the tab. This alone gives merit to icons.

    I do, however, agree that the icons for images/videos/maps/news all have the same basic shape and on that size are not super easily identifiable from one another. The news icon seems the most lazy, and the maps icon slightly baffles me in terms of level of detail on such a small scale.

    What I do know is that Google is not a vanity design culture, and the changes were definitely informed and rolled out as a result of testing.

    6 points
  • Philip A, almost 4 years ago

    "The Google interface looks like the perfect GUI for toddlers" If toddlers can use it then they've created a good interface design for the masses :)

    2 points
  • Account deleted almost 4 years ago

    Whats with the hashtags? Did you just learn how to use computer?

    2 points
  • Paul Bunyar, almost 4 years ago

    I'm no longer using Google for searches. I use DuckDuckGo.

    1 point
  • Jordan Coppard, almost 4 years ago

    I can't see the new one, got a picture?

    1 point
    • Chris Howard, almost 4 years ago

      Yup. I got no idea what he's on about. The only change i'm seeing on desktop is the icons. And on mobile, nothing.

      0 points
  • Willem ShepherdWillem Shepherd, almost 4 years ago

    Hahahaha #rant

    0 points
  • Jrtorrents Dorman , almost 4 years ago

    At least on mobile it's very hard to distinguish paid results and organic results. There's now only "Ad" which can easily be mistaken for a company logo.

    0 points
  • Aaron Wears Many HatsAaron Wears Many Hats, almost 4 years ago

    I mean, I noticed the icons, but like it's not bad or anything.

    Edit: One thing I did notice, has google always been non-responsive?

    0 points
    • Mirza SadovicMirza Sadovic, almost 4 years ago

      It has responsiveness for the variety of Desktop VS Desktop HD viewports, but not for tablet/mobile. I assume they detect and deliver device-centric versions of the UI to the devices themselves, thus avoiding the overhead of maintaining a bunch of awkward breakpoint transitions which are always limiting when doing a responsive design.

      1 point
      • Aaron Wears Many HatsAaron Wears Many Hats, almost 4 years ago

        That's what I'm guessing as well. It's just that I was sure it was previously responsive, just wondering if this new design is the turning point away from that or if I'd just missed the transition previously

        0 points
    • Stefan I., almost 4 years ago

      hahahaha, I never noticed it

      1 point