A New Look for Gmail
A video from Google's YouTube channel (update: the video is now private, but there's a mirror here) introduces a new Gmail interface. It's based on the Preview theme that's already available in Gmail, but there are many other changes: an action bar that uses icons instead …
Context & Ripple Effects
This leak lands mid-way through a long Gmail interface arc: back in September 2007 Google was already testing a rebuilt version of Gmail, and mobile followed with its own interface improvements the next day. Four years on, the web client is getting the same treatment — this time built on the existing Preview theme rather than from scratch.
What makes the timing notable is that it is not an isolated tweak. On the same day, Google confirmed a brand-new design for Google Reader rolling out within the week and plans to add Google+ features to Reader, part of a broader push to give its social network traction after early struggles. A unified visual language across Gmail, Reader and beyond is the connective tissue of that strategy.
First-order effects
- Gmail users get an interface based on the Preview theme with an icon-based action bar replacing text controls, changing daily muscle memory for hundreds of millions of accounts.
Second-order effects
- Google's own adjacent products are pulled along: the confirmed Google Reader redesign due within the week suggests shared components and a consistent chrome across Google properties rather than per-product design.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, interface changes become vehicles for social integration — each redesigned surface is a slot for Google+ features, tying the web's biggest communication tools to Google's social ambitions.
The trend: Google is converging its consumer products on a single visual and social layer, using redesigns of core apps like Gmail and Reader to distribute Google+.