If design is for people, then redesign has to be for people too.

Google has recently made a choice to redesign Gmail. They have considered the form (typography, color, layout, icons, grid, white space) as well as the function (dropdown menus, search tools, task management). As a brand, I believe this is on point with their mission "to organize the world‘s information and make it universally accessible and useful."

I have signed into my Gmail a dozen times in the past two weeks just to eye the "new look." It is quite beautiful compared to its predecessor (shown above). The colors are appealing. The icons are gorgeous. Most of all, there is room to breathe.

I just watched a conference talk given by Frank Chimero. In an obvious overstatement (profound nonetheless) he said "design is for people." If that is true, then redesign has to be for people too. I tip my hat to Google for doing such a great job with the Gmail update. The "cleaner, more modern" style is enough to make me want to use the program.

However, design is not simply making something look pretty. It has much to do with functionality – how will the user interact with what you are creating. I conceptualize my email differently from the way Gmail is set up. The new design does not change the way it handles organizing the bits of communication, and so I am not going to change my email behavior. Even still, I am sure plenty of users are excited about the changes they have made.

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