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March 7, 2012

New Google +1 Buttons

The ubiquitous +1 buttons will soon have a new look. The updated version is available when you subscribe to the Google+ Platform Preview, at least for now.

"Following in the footsteps of our new red and white Google+ icon, the +1 button is sporting a fresh coat of paint," informs Google.


While the new buttons are more consistent and include the Google+ branding, the old buttons are more colorful and more descriptive. "+1" is bigger and more obvious in the old buttons and that made them more clickable.

Here's the tiny +1 button from Google+:


... and here's the +1 button from Google Groups:



The small +1 buttons are not legible and it's not obvious that you're supposed to click them. As Fernando Fonseca says, "I understand the need to have a button that looks like the new logo but the problem is that a white background with a thin red line is hardly eye catching and hardly says 'Click me'."

You can compare the different versions of the +1 (v1) and +1 (v2) using the corresponding sprites. I'd choose the old buttons.

Update: There's still time to improve the buttons. Share your feedback here and here.

{ Thanks, Yu-Hsuan Lin. }

19 comments:

  1. I'd take the old button too. This new button is not distinctive enough and is less eye catching... :/

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  2. The new icon looks fancier but the usability is down, of course. But eh, I don't feel strongly either way. I do like how stark it is, but I'm unsure of how I feel about Google+ becoming this red/white thing when it's supposed to be the next version of Google, which has always inhabited the whole color spectrum (which I loved.)

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  3. I agree with Kevin, but I really don't care. As long as its there.

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  4. i prefer the old one, it has a lot of in common with google at all than the red one.

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  5. Use the Google Wallet Style if you want to make the "g" of google appear fancy. I think it is pretty catchy.

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  6. I don't mind the larger button surrounded by white space, but the smaller one looks messy amongst all the blue links.

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  7. I don't like the new style... red is an angry color in general for text. If you kept the old style (blue +1, colors at the top) and added a blue stylized 'g' instead of a red one like in the new version, I think that would add a little more branding. Don't limit yourselves, Google, to one color.

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    Replies
    1. I guess Google wants to distinguish themselves from Facebook "all blue" website (and buttons and other stuff like widgets)

      So... it's a pretty logical move from them.

      Delete
  8. I prefer the old one. The new button looks a bit to similar to the pinterest pin it button.

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  9. They should stop changing the way things look so frequently. Subtle changes are okay, but it sends out a message that things aren't stable and going to be around for a long time. Personally, I liked the old button, and I liked the original Google plus icon rather than the red one.

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  10. why on earth is there no dark colored button for dark website designs?
    is that too much to ask for?
    I don't care for new or old design, all I want is a simple dark +1 button that doesn't mess up my page design.

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    Replies
    1. is that true that we dont have choice for black themes website ?

      Delete
  11. I like the new one as it is not distracting me while looking at the search results

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  12. I prefer the old one.
    It's more obvious that it is google +1.

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  13. I like the previous button design much more than a new one, especially for the small (15 px) button.

    Is there any way to continue using the old sprite?

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  14. There are small differences. As long as the buttons are small and visible then its OK for me. But the first one seems a little more attractive.

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  15. I really liked the buttons above..

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