Gmail Getting A Facelift
With the user interface of Google search engines been handed a new design to make the site ‘pretty', it seems that Google are now looking to clean up the look of their email client, Gmail.
After logging into my account this morning I was greeted by a link within the top right hand side of my inbox, telling me that I can preview the new Gmail look, the latest in the site's redevelopment project I guess.
Naturally I opted to follow the teasing offer of a sneaky look at the new design, being drawn into the promise of a new revelation that is going to leave me with my jaw on the floor and excitement pumping through my veins.
The new Gmail look definitely falls into line with the new sleek looking Google, offering a white background, clean presentation and that questionable red hint on the sidebar that still has me wondering where it has come from.

Looking at the design I have to admit that I do actually quite like the design but this is coming from someone who likes clean and professional looking designs rather than something that is way to busy to even entertain a visitor with a low attention span.
Okay I admit that it has taken me a few minutes to really warm to the idea of actually being able to see the interface as still being Gmail, after all the theme that I placed onto my previous version offered a hell of a lot crammed into as much of the top left corner of my screen as possible, but on reflection, I like the theme.
It seems to be a small change for many of the Gmail users out there that have given into the offer of forbidden fruit that is a sneaky look at the new design but for me, I've seen my screen suddenly alter from a busy colourful screen to a crisp, clean interface.
You can now add the new theme to your Gmail interface by going to your settings > themes > Preview.
Have you had a look at the new theme yet?
Will you be using it or is the red mist on the left sidebar haunting you from your time within the main site?
38 Comments
nick
would like to see some colour separation / definition for the pages so its not lost with whole screen say colours in-coming and sent e-mails
Heather - http://callmestupidbut.co.uk
I’m loving the new design on the inbox view – nice and clean, just a shame it’s ruined by the ads on the individual email view, making it cluttered as before.
I doubt they’ll be getting rid of the ads any time soon though.
Mark
http://goo.gl/V42vv
If you use Chrome there is an Ad blocker for GMail extension. Cleans things up a bit.
Heather - http://callmestupidbut.co.uk
Swap firefox for chrome? Ooh, well ok, maybe just for gmail purposes. I’ve used the ad blocker for firefox but found it a bit annoying. I’ll give the chrome version a try. Thanks.
Carly
You can get the AdBlock extension for Firefox as well 🙂
Bob Turner
I haven’t even tried Google chrome yet…………..
Bob Turner
When does the change take place?
Alex Graves
Hi Bob,
The general thoughts are that it will be rolled out within the upcoming days but i have noticed that you can add the theme to your interface today by simply going into the email settings of your account, going to themes and selecting one of the bottom two available themes.
There is no indication as yet that the alteration to the theme will be forced onto users as a default but even if they do, you will be able to theme the client as you wish.
Kittie - http://www.indigogirl.co.uk
Red, white, black and grey…lovely and clean, I converted to it this morning!
M.Chandrasekhar
I went to settings to change into new interface which is more attractive.. In my seetings option there is no themes in it.
Guide me how to change to new g mail.
Regards,
Chandrasekhar
Bangalore
Carps - http://www.search-watch.com
Calendar’s got a new look too (http://bit.ly/oYb3mi) Not sure about the whole thing personally… bit dull and corporate and lacking a bit of character maybe.
That being said, Google News is as ugly as sin: please fix!
alanzee
have you tried Google Fast Flip (http://fastflip.googlelabs.com/)?
Al Moore
Why must you continually keep messing with what is already working? Did you not do it right the first time? Why should we believe you will make it any better this time? I have seen too many changes made to so many thinge that were worse than the (imagined)
problem. JUST TAKE AN EXTENDED VACATION and leave things alone.
sue
how do I get rid of this new look and go back to the origianal one ?? I do not like all all the bold blue space wit htrash, delete, etc appearing first and in a different dolor. I want it back to the side of my g-mail screen. Please help
Alex Graves
Hi Sue,
It seems that i have the option to revoke back to my old layout by heading back into the mail settings, going to themes and then choosing one of the themes listed in there.
From the 4 or 5 i tested, only the Preview themes are designed in the new format so you can select one you like from there and you’re back to normality.
Hope that helps!
Stoney deGeyter - http://www.polepositionmarketing.com
I’m not a fan. Everything is too spread out. I tried it for a few days and feel that things are too hard to differentiate from one another. I might warm up to it if they tightened it up a bit so I can get more emails and filter tags on the screen.
Alex Graves
Stoney,
Are you aware that the theme offers two options?
One offers a wider spacing and the other is more compact, not as compact as the old layout but still better than the other.
Stoney deGeyters - http://www.polepositionmarketing.com
Yeah, I used the compact version for several days. Couldn’t take it anymore. Thought i might like it because I like the changes in Calendar, but not here. I’ve avoiding it at all costs.
Dale DeBoer
No way .
Keep it like it was …
We do not need Pretty .
suraj pokhrel
I do not like this new theme of gmail. I was expecting better then this.
Dave
Are they finally going to add sorting in GMAIL?
M.Chandrasekhar
Yes I also converted and it is great and colors are very pleasant. Thank You.
Bangalore
Haz
I’m not one to resist change for the sake of keeping things “how they always were” but these changes to gmail miss the mark. They are very dull… too much white on the screen that I have to squint. It seems that there is not enough visible separation among emails, buttons, and between the left and right panes. Even the “dense” theme does not display as many emails per screen as my preferred “steel” theme.
Add some more color, tone down the whites, delineate buttons and links more clearly, and compact it even more. I hope other themes modeled on the new theme correct this.
A.K.Murthy - http://-
I Thank u for ur gmail new look.Very nice.A.K.Murthy
P.R.RADHAKRISHNAN
Good effort.
Regards,
Radhakrishnan
Davin Bergstrom - http://graphicsbydavin.com
The new design makes me sleepy. All my attention goes to the blaring red button.
Kevin
Let’s put it this way…Google’s current email interface looks like a marketing committee designed it back in the 1990s. It is a mess, and anything would be an improvement. Dull is OK, because I HATE those contextual ads. In a message I type the word “formaldehyde” and I get the names of six mortuaries. I type “I hate broccoli” to a friend and get both articles on vegetables and a list of KKK covens…for corn’s sake…anything would be an improvement over THAT.
Z
I switched to the new theme “Preview (Dense)” and I love it! It has a nice, clean and professional design.
Now they need to add more color options. They’ll probably do that sooner rather than later 🙂
Kevin
I use lots of different software. Even if each piece of software got a new look only once every few years, it still means that I am constantly learning new layouts. Sucks. Leave well enough alone and let me do my job instead of learning new interfaces.
Marc
The new design is the old design with more line spacing. How is adding a bunch of dead space an improvement? If you like the white background, red compose button, etc that could be handled by a simple color theme, no need for a redesign. Use of red is ridiculous.
The only thing I find acceptable are the control buttons – but that changed for me nearly a week ago. As long as I can keep my darker planets theme I don’t care, but if they make my left side bare require more scrolling just to see my calendar I will not be impressed.
Gopi
New interface looks very dull and laid back.
Bri
Please restore my “Marc Ecko” theme to my gmail …
I mistakenly looked at, both, the “Preview” and “Preview (Dense)” themes. If I had known ahead of time that my “Marc Ecko” theme would be replaced, I would have never looked at the two preview themes.
Doug
Unable to edit events once we create them in new g-mail. What are we doing wrong. Pretty frustrated.
Nev Griffiths
Can someone advise me on how to stop my email from defaulting to the priority inbox please ! ….. Thanx Nev !
Russ
Did the fix the calendar problems? I think change is good but make sure you do make it where we have to learn a new software. Some times CLEAN = Complicated.
Ashley
I hate it. Awful for a netbook. I sure hope they give us the option to continue using the old look.
brian webster
gmail needs a sort function by name and by date for quicker way to find emails.
Hamish MacEwan - http://tr.im/HKM
Removed clutter? They’ve added white space and cluttered my netbook beyond utility. But then I flirted with Terminal as a GMail Theme for a while.
Lotsa white is a cheap high, and ignores the smaller screen crowd.