Steve Krug wrote the web usability book “Don’t Make Me Think” back in 2000. The design approach/theme is, as the book title suggests, don’t make users think!! A webpage that is easy and intuitive to use is delightful.
Google’s new homepage made me think
Google changed recently the design of its homepage. I’d been using Google’s search homepage as my homepage for more than a decade, and, for the first time, I had to think when using it! When I first encountered the new design about a week or two ago, I could neither “find” nor figure out how to launch it’s applications (e.g., map, news). I wondered whether I would have to enter in the url or bookmark the url for each application. I could not imagine that Google would require this.
Accessing Google’s apps from the homepage?
So, I perused the homepage and thought! I noticed, near the “Sign in” icon/image, an icon in the upper right hand part of the homepage that looked like one side of a rubic’s cube. (Note: in the version that I see, the word “Apps” does not appear!) I eventually discovered that clicking on that icon would reveal a set of icons for the various Google apps, and that clicking on the app icon desired would launch that app. Ok, got it. But, sheesh, it was not immediately evident to me. Below is the new design of Google’s homepage.
Google’s new design for its homepage
Google’s previous design for its homepage
Below is an image of the previous design — sorry about blurriness. Note that the application names are listed above the Google logo. Clear as day how to access these apps with this design!
I’m exhausted
Google’s new homepage design tires out my right index finger. I use the (stick) pointer, rather than the touchpad, on my laptop to move the cursor. My “neutral” position for the cursor tends to be near the center of the screen. When I want to search, I don’t need to move the cursor far/much to type search terms into the search window. However, if I want to use an app, I need to move the cursor to the top right corner of the Google homepage window — the farthest distance from the center of the webpage! With the previous design, the links to launch the apps were due north and a shorter distance away (i.e., less effort).
Time to pump some iron
I’m going to find some good workouts to build up strength in my right index finger so that using Google’s homepage won’t be exhausting. Alternatively, I could use a different search engine, such as Bing.
Now, I know what you might be thinking: Don’t I have better things to think about? I’ll leave that for you to determine.
Isenberg Marketing 