google going square?
In the last two days, Google introduced new layouts for YouTube and Google Reader. Both designs feature "square" styles, escaping the familiar Web 2.0 trend of going towards soft, round shapes. Reader's new layout looks fresh and really shows that squares can work. Unfortunately, the same can't be said about YouTube. The new embedded search bar as well as the navigation in YouTube make me believe that Google's taking a step in the wrong direction. The square navigation doesn't pair well with the rounded content boxes that fill out the rest of the page. Despite this, I do believe that Google is doing a great job of openly making a case for the future of angled design as opposed to round design. We'll see how much they can influence design on the web as a result of this.
[Official Google Reader Blog] Google's take on their new Reader design.