Title: How Google Finally Got Design
Context: If Google can achieve design superiority, anyone can. I hope.
Synopsis: Remember how the minimal, search-box-only approach to “design” that Google built its empire upon was viewed as a success in spite of itself? Sure, it was eminently usable, but it certainly wasn’t (and still isn’t) pretty, but so what? It’s a search engine after all and when you only have one job… But then Google started making other things. Lots of other things. Including the most widely used mobile operating system on the planet which brought them into direct competition with companies who prioritize design sensibility literally above every other technical and business consideration *cough*Apple*cough* Now, that simplistic, bare bones design philosophy started to fray at the seams. Building the capability to handle all of this new complexity with the same old commitment to usable experience is neither straightforward nor painless. Was Google able to reinvent itself as a design-centric company capable of delivering superior products and services within a consistent and aesthetically pleasing UI framework? Maybe you should Google it to find out…
Best Bit: “Good design isn’t just a product. It’s also an organization, and a story that organization tells about how it came to be.”
via fastcompany.com
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