Google in process of beauty reboot

Search giant debuting clean aesthetic to please design-savvy consumers

— Google Inc. has been described as functional, powerful, scary, speedy and fun. But beautiful? Hardly ever.

New Chief Executive Officer Larry Page is trying to change all that, cribbing a note from one of his business role models and competitors, the late Steve Jobs and Apple Inc.

Almost immediately after becoming CEO in April, Page ordered a redesign of Google’s online properties, attempting to create a unified look and feel that would proclaim “Google,” just as the aesthetic character of Apple products renders them instantly recognizable. The universal redesign is the first in the company’s 13-year history.

Google’s new, less-cluttered look debuted with the Google+ social network at the end of June, and is now being phased in to Gmail, Calendar, Documents, Search and other Google sites across the company’s online empire. While Google’s plans for a wholesale face-lift were overshadowed by the hubbub over the launch of Google+, Page months before had set in motion a crash program by the company’s user interface (UI) designers to remake the face of Google.

“Larry likes things done fast, so he was like, ‘Hey guys, can we completely transform Google’s look and feel by the summer?’” said Jon Wiley, the company’s lead user experience designer for search. “As designers, we kind of felt like we were the dog that had caught the car.”

With its geeky, data-driven identity, Google has rarely been lauded for its aesthetics. But with consumers snapping up Apple’s iPhones and iPads, and with Facebook launching new products that emphasize look and feel as well as functionality, Google and other Internet companies are increasingly focused on appearance, as well as how they work.

“It’s really clear that consumers care about [design] now,” said Khoi Vinh, former design director for The New York Times website, who is working on a startup connected to the iPad. “In an earlier age when tech was still rough and immature, you could win on technology alone. But now, tech is mature enough that people really value and look for the best possible design. It’s why Apple sold 4 million iPhone [4Ses]” its first weekend on sale.

Interactive design students in programs like New York’s School of Visual Arts have become targets for Silicon Valley recruiters, with companies like Apple, Yelp, Twitter, Facebook and Google making job offers to recent graduates, said Liz Danzico, chairman of the school’s interactive design program.

Her students are in demand because technology companies are realizing that design “can be a differentiator for users,” Danzico said.

Facebook made waves in design circles in April when it bought Daytum, a startup for collecting personal statistics and sharing them through striking digital graphics, bringing its principals Nicholas Felton and Ryan Case to Silicon Valley from New York to work on its forthcoming Timeline feature. Facebook touted the acquisition at its annual developer conference this year, and Vinh said other technology startups, like Groupon, Airbnb and Pinterest have raised the bar for online aesthetics.

Google’s redesign includes new shapes for buttons; the hiding of many controls until they’re needed, resulting in a cleaner look; consistency of appearance across desktop computers, laptops, tablets and smart phones; and a “color language” where bolder reds, blues and greens all have specific meanings. Even the search home page — where aesthetic minimalism has been praised in the past — got a revamp, with a smaller Google logo.

Google’s face-lift has drawn praise from design experts, although the consensus remains that the company hasn’t matched Apple. On his blog, Vinh called the update “less beholden to the brutally analytical decision-making that has guided Google product design and aesthetics in the past.”

Business, Pages 22 on 10/31/2011

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