mediajunk

We all admire Google's commitment to usability. But usability and sexy design should not be mutually exclusive.

Google started out well: its homepage is usable but aesthetically elegant. As more pages have been added to the site, however, Google has failed to maintain the balance between pragmatism & style.

The latest addition to Google’s site -- the adsense page -- is the least stylish yet. The page balance is askew; the layout is asymmetrical. Left-aligned elements compete for visual attention with centered elements and boxed elements. The result: the page looks too busy, too clumsy.

This inconsistency is found too in the haphazard use of borders -- some are hairline, others are thick – which, along with the general lack of “breathing space” between elements, adds to the overall sense of untidiness.

Worst of all is the extremely thick border around the submit buttons. Talk about overkill. Relax, Google. We know the buttons are there. We see them. Sheesh. (What next: < blink> tags?)

Frankly, https://www.google.com/adsense is ugly. Perhaps Google has too many computer science PhDs and not enough -- if any -- aesthetically-sensitive employees?