Google on Wednesday announced the release of their latest homepage and search design. The new “metamorphosis” reveals a cleaner page design with a left-aligned navigation pane and a brand new logo.
The new left-hand navigation pane is the largest change that most will immediately notice. The fully contextually sensitive side panel gives users the most relevant categories so that users can more easily refine their search query. The new navigation panel is a combination of three previous Google technologies: Universal Search, Search Options, and Google Squared.
Keen-eyed users should notice that Google has also given their classic logo a slight facelift. A more vibrant color palette combined with a flatter text gradient and shadow should illustrate a more modern look while still keeping Google’s trademark whimsical, minimal design.
Old vs New
The new design refreshes and streamlines the look, feel and functionality of Google, making it easier to pinpoint what you’re looking for. It’s powerful, yet simple. Today’s changes are the latest in our continuing efforts to evolve and improve Google. We"ve been testing these changes with users over the past few months, and what we"re launching today reflects the feedback we"ve received.. We want to ensure that the Google you use today is better than the one you used yesterday, and these latest changes open up many possibilities for future features and enhancements.
Google has posted a video highlighting the new changes: