The art of a homepage
Last week, we announced a new feature that lets you add a favorite photo or image to the background of your Google.com homepage. — To provide you with an extra bit of inspiration, we've collaborated with several well-known artists, sculptors and photographers …
Context & Ripple Effects
Google had already tested creative personalization through artist-designed iGoogle themes and invited public participation around a one-day homepage doodle. Bringing user-selected imagery and commissioned work to Google.com extends that visual strategy from a customizable portal to the core search page.
First-order effects
- Google.com users gain the ability to put a chosen photo or image behind the search interface, while participating artists, sculptors and photographers gain a prominent distribution venue.
Second-order effects
- Google’s homepage becomes a more actively curated brand surface, making visual customization part of the competition over the search page’s identity rather than a feature confined to iGoogle.
Third-order effects
- If Google continues to pair homepage personalization with creative partnerships, the search homepage shifts from a fixed utility interface toward a programmable cultural and branding canvas.
The trend: Google is broadening web-product personalization by applying themes, user expression and creative collaborations to increasingly central interfaces.