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June 30, 2011

A New Interface for Google Search Results Pages

The latest design refresh updated not only Google's homepage, but also search results pages. Google uses a new color scheme for the sidebar, adds grayscale icons next to the specialized search engines, replaces the standard search button with a label-less blue button, uses a smaller Google logo and adds a gray background color to the header.


Google says it has "muted the color of the tools and reserved the use of bolder colors to highlight key action buttons, tools and filters". Unfortunately, the change made the sidebar icons less useful and the search box too prominent. The new header could pave the way to a search results page that uses "infinite scrolling" instead of pagination.

Here's the old interface:


Can you find other changes?

{ Thanks, Kimnaii, Chris, Swen, Nikita. }

50 comments:

  1. Beautiful and Fuctional look, Google Rocks (As usual)

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  2. oh well, still usable.

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  3. little typo: "Functional" not Fuctional

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  4. "Here's the old interface, which is still displayed in Opera"

    Wrong. Opera too shows the new interface → http://pix.am/FgFv.png

    Another thing I noticed while browsing with Firefox - the Google +1 button is shown beside the search results by default → http://pix.am/HLOU.png

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  5. Am I wrong? The new Google look reminds me on the Ubuntu standart color theme...

    Beautiful anyway...

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  6. I absolutely love it.
    But they should do something with the advanced search page.

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  7. Hey, I saw this yesterday night in chrome only... it hought browser apecific change.. but after your post it seems the real change.
    I wrote about it on my blog http://xpressabhi.com/google/google-plus-will-be-a-social-networking-hub-or-not/1713

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  8. I think it's 10 times better than the old design which had a lot of annoying colors. So your remark is kinda lame :P

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  9. I like the new scheme. My only criticism is the shopping icon needs to have the currency symbol relevant to the country you are in.

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  10. The Onebox result for flight searches have been revamped too. Eg: Search for 'B6 87'

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  11. this across all google products!

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  12. It is nice to see an update, but the colors of the side bar icons were good as it made them more easily recognizeable and the black bar at the top is distracting it needs to more grey, if not white. And the search buttons and logo on the homepage look stupidly small

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  13. I truly do not see the need for the side bar icons and I am truly shocked that most of the comments are agreeing with this... As I was just getting used to the "old" "new" ugly Google they go ahead and make it even uglier... Most people just use Google to search so I fail to see the need to add the sidebar... What I truly hate though is that there is no option that is put into place to disable the side bar... I don't see the point in the side bar as most of the options are at the top anyway... But alas I give this a couple of months and Google will change it again... I seriously think that this is so pointless... Oh and the colour scheme is ugly as well... It just doesn't blend with anything... They have also changed the iPhone Google (or mobile Google) which again I see as pointless... For a person who uses Google all the damn time I find the change a huge annoyance...

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  14. Please tone down that horrible black bar!

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  15. I didn't like the new look (with the red titles) when I saw it last night. Now when you show it with what we had before, I don't like it a little bit less.

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  16. I hate infinite scrolling... with a passion.

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  17. I don't like the new blue search button. It's ugly!...For me the old gray Search button is a symbol of Google.

    Also the new URLs are less detailed than it was before. Searching is now more complicated, because I don't see right away if I am interested on some page or not.

    Please bring the old search button and URLs back!

    P.s. Sorry for my bad English, I am not a native speaker.

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  18. I hated the previous shiny blue links on the left sidebar, but fixed that with a userstyle (via Stylish) which also toned down the colors of the icons. Now I feel inclined to remove the icons completely, and get rid of the "Bing-search" button in shiny blue. I never click it, so I see no reason for it to be so shiny. Hopyfully it'll go away after the current round of internet newbies figure out the enter button. Maybe they could make the "bing search button" only show up for touch-enabled devices.

    Also using red to mark what's selected is a No-NOOOO. They could've just boldfaced the selected option.

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  19. I love it!
    Finally some beautiful en user friendly UI
    more of this please

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  20. Oh, it seems I'm victim of an experiment (i.e. http://www.google.com/images/experiments/nav_logo78.png) but anyway I reinstalled and refreshed my userstyle to keep my sanity. http://userstyles.org/styles/29616/google-search-less-in-your-face-2011-06-30

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  21. "Unfortunately, the change made the sidebar icons less useful and the search box too prominent."

    Please explain:

    1 why the sidebar icons are now less useful, and
    2 why the search box is too prominent.

    I'm particularly interested in no. 1. I think they are much more stylish now. They especially don't sport colors that are too strong, so they don't steal so much attention from the search results. I think the new black header and darker sidebar colors help frame the search results *much better* than the old design.

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  22. I like this one. It works for search (definitely doesn't work for calendar). Now, I just want to see the header (search box and google logo), and left tools pane stay fixed (like the map in some search results), and have infinite scrolling.

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  23. I forgot to add, those elements (header, filter pane from previous comment) stay fixed in image search, but for some reason, not in regular search.

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  24. Now Google's interface became awful!

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  25. i found them refreshing... most people hate it because they are used to the old design, it's always this way. people look at it and it doesn't feel right with them because it doesn't fit with their past experience and mistaken it for dislike, sigh

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  26. It is ugly and looks unprofessional

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  27. I like this new look, but I'm not sure about the red highlight color.

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  28. Not used to this new color scheme but will get so in short time~
    ~xD

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  29. The image search criteria for image size have been simplified to 'Large', 'Medium', and 'Icon'. the 'At least...' feature is gone. This is a HUGE drop in functionality and user set-ability. I don't understand it.

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  30. what the hell? "At Least feature is gone?" please google bring it back -___-

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  31. Google is always great and all of products and features of Google's are awesome.

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  32. It looks like a twitter + bing clone. Seriously sucks hard and you know it.

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  33. I hate it.! I hate it.! I hate it.! I hate it.! I hate it.! I hate it.! I hate it.! I hate it.! I hate it.! I hate it.! I hate it.! I hate it.! I hate it.! I hate it.! I hate it.! I hate it.!

    Google.! dont be tight, spend some money on a designer.. and stop getting the cleaner to do the UI designing for you.

    I HATE IT..!

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  34. I really really really hope they put the URL back on the bottom of each result...I have the hardest time making out good search results between all the crap!

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  35. Hate the left side toolbar! Everytime i open it i think something is wrong! red icons usually mean danger, dont click! Grey icons usually mean dead links or unclickable!

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  36. That black bar across the top is so ugly I switched search engines. Google's black is so hard and harsh!! Very jarring!

    I'm not a Bing fan but I'm enjoying the grey background (soothing) with the changing pic every day (and if I really like the pic I can use it the next day too).

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  37. To be honest, i don't see a reason to change the design at all. This is an oldest function (google search) and everybody got used to it. Why to study the new design? I think, it's better to concentrate on new features..

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  38. ...where are all of the image results?

    Has anyone noticed when you search images you only see just a few? Try searching for "fireworks"...it says there are 15.5+ million but you only get to see 32! Any image search seems to result in 32 with no apparent way to see any more. Guess I will switch to using Bing search where you still get to see a nice variety with lots of results.

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  39. ...where are all of the image results?

    I stand corrected! It's only 28 images in the result for "fireworks". Hmmm...where are the rest of the 15.5 million?

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  40. ...where are all of the image results?

    UPDATE:

    It now appears Google has come through and things are back to the way they were ...at least for now. Thank you Google!

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  41. yeah that was a cool change and after all google plus is coming...new revolution comes in google market........

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  42. I hate the new look; been on Bing lately? Looks the same, is this what google was going for?

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  43. This new design make it look like Google is Microsoft. You can NOT get the idea of the design away! Microsoft, Microsoft, Microsoft...

    Please go AWAY with the new design, it is more than to be hated, on small 6-bit color TN LCD screens it is just a vomit. Can google make one page with a simple, non-obtrusive design? I am going to use that one. This new bloatware design style is bloated, small screen unfriendly... it is HOSTILE to small screens!

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  44. the new interface is totally ugly!!!
    that black bar is very distracting.

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  45. The new look reminds me the ubuntu theme, which may look beautiful to someone, but definitely not to me. Is there anyway I can use the plain old good interface?

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  46. Looks like "My first web page" (tm).

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  47. Google is the best search engine i've known, it updates regularly, though it messes sometimes, you will still get the best results you're looking for. Keep up the good work!

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