How Google Got Its New Look

How
and saysGoogle
Dek text is dummy text in this place here for these many words
this much here and text is teekay. Dek text is dummy
Got Itsplace
text in this Newhere forLook
these many words and says this 1. Branding matters
The Google logo loses
Themuch here
design and text
process thatis teekay
led for these
to changes in themany words like this. its drop shadows and
all-important search results page TM symbol.

1. Branding matters
Google’s own logo was
old tweaked for the purposes
of the relaunch.
11.
12.Inconsistencies
Pixels matter
11. Redundancy is O.K. ok
White space is
Designers include text and icons Rather than get
added between new
for images, news, etc., for clarity’s rid
theof duplicated
search box and
sake. launch.
before Even though some of the links along
the first theafter
result top
links
10. Butappear twice, the team
wait, there’s of
it isthe page, the
determined 2. Side Navigation Color
2. Side navigation colorto add blue
Experiments
decides that duplication is better
more designers
the increased included
gap In an earlycolumns
experiment,
down each side of
thanpage
The removing a familiar tool.
highlights some
wouldn’t of the
slowsame
down blue columns
the frame
resultsthe results.
were rejected.
tools that Google’s links
click (images,
rates. news,
The idea is rejected.
algorithm has
determined might be
useful, so as not to
overwhelm a user. More
options are available. 3.3.Search
Searchquery
Querybox
Boxlength
The Length is
Extended
extended toinbetter
order
to framethe
establish thewidth of
results
the better.
results page.

way for users to

10.investigate
But wait, similar
there’s more
queries. Internally,
The
thispage highlights
feature was
tools
knownthatas
Google’s
“not
4. Search query
algorithm
entirely determines
unlike”,
box color
might be useful.to
but changed 4. Search Query
Turning the search
the less whimsical Box Color
box blue creates a
“something Turning the “search
needless distraction.
different” just box” blue drove
In the final design,
users, literally, to
it’s gray.
distraction. The final

5. Links are no longer

alignment, experimenting underlined
with the toolbar on both Secondary links
the9. “Something have their underlines
Different”
left and right hand side of removed to cut down
theA new
page.function ondesign
visual clutter.
is grey.
(Inmeant to encourage
the end, it’s on the left). Designers
5. Links no want to
longer
9.“sideways
“Something search”—a
Different” remove
underlined link lines,
more
waynew
This for function
users to is but tests show
Secondary this
links
investigate
intended similar
to introduce confuses
had the users.
line
queries. Originally
“sideways search”, a removed, to cut
labelled “Not Entirely down on the visual
Unlike” (a tribute to clutter. Actually,
science fiction writer designers wanted
Douglas Adams), the to 6. Somemore
remove things
name is changed of don’t change
the link lines,
icon at the bottom of the The extendable
before launch to
search results page was “Goooooogle” icon
avoid confusion.
considered sacrosanct. at the bottom of
7. Text: Flush left/right the search results
Designers tried aligning page is considered
sacrosanct.

but tests showed this confused

users.
6. Some things don’t change
text
8. Toolbar: on the
Flush leftleft or the right side of the
or right? 7. Text: Flush left The extendable “Goooooogle”
bar. of the tool bar is
The placement or right?
(Final decision:
tested exhaustively beforeFlush left).
usability Designers try aligning
8. Toolbar:
experiments show theFlush
eye left/right
pays text on both the left
Designers
more attention also
to the leftplayed
side ofaround with and right sides of
the Web page. the toolbar. Final
decision: Flush left.  ➡
Home Page Evolution

Since the day Stanford

computer science graduate
students Sergey Brin and
Larry Page registered
the domain Google.com
—Sept. 15, 1997, if you’re
curious—the search results
page has been redesigned
seven times. The iconic home Nov. 11, 1998 Nov. 6, 1999 May 10, 2000
page has also undergone its The jaunty launch design makes Goodbye exclamation points. The world map signals Google’s
share of tweaks. copious use of exclamation points Users now have the ability to drill availability in 10 languages,
and boasts an index of around into government documents or find accessible via a drop-down menu
25 million pages. out about jobs at Google. to the right of the search box.

Mar. 31, 2001 Mar. 25, 2004 Oct. 12, 2007

A centered logo and uncluttered
page—confident gestures befitting
the world’s largest search engine.
Links to Google products such as
News and Groups are added above
the search box.
Google becomes available in
Arabic. Currently, the search engine
is available on 157 domains and in
117 languages (including Klingon.)
Dec. 2, 2009
In an attempt to pare back
distractions, the most recent
change removed most of the
icons, which appear only when a
user initiates the mouse.