Google recently posted on their Gmail blog letting the world now that Gmail was getting an overhaul. Jason Cornwell, a User Experience Designer at Google, wrote a detailed post outlining the improvements and how they would change the Gmail experience.

The updates are designed to strip out any unnecessary clutter, making the features that are already available more accessible so Gmail can be “as beautiful as it is powerful”. The updates are to be rolled out gradually over the coming months following continuous feedback from the community, allowing the design to evolve as it goes along.

The first of the updates that Google have already implemented is two new themes, providing a bit of a “sneak peek” into what Google are planning for the future. These two themes “Preview” and “Preview (Dense)” allow you to select the information density that you prefer, depending on the size of your monitor. In time, the Gmail interface will change dynamically to ensure that the display accommodates different user preferences and screen sizes, but in the mean time you can select the best theme to suit your screen size manually.

In the future Google also plan to add new themes that are based around the same design principles but are specially tailored for people who work in a dark environment to make the experience easier on the users’ eyes. There will also be a number of different themes that have different colour palettes and include illustrations!

The Gmail overhaul is part of a Google-wide initiative to improve the user experience and make the process of using Google more efficient and focused for all types of user. Google Calendar has also been given a new look and will continue to be improved in the coming months. Recently the Google search page has also changed, with the classic homepage getting a bit of a makeover. The Google logo was shrunk down and the links were moved out to the top and bottom edges of the browser for a cleaner “uncluttered” look.

Ten years ago there was really only a couple of ways to use Google, on a PC or laptop with an average size screen. Now that there is such a huge variety of ways to access the web, Google have recognised that the experience needs to be elastic, to allow that experience to be just as good no matter what platform is used.

The interface changes are sparking quite a bit of debate on the official Google Blog as well as on Twitter, so no doubt they will have plenty of feedback to take on board as they continue the Google Evolution!

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