A better Gmail
I love Gmail. Since its release, a couple of years ago as a Beta, I got hooked with its speed, but most importantly, with its concept of wrapping similar emails as conversations. It really was and example of “thinking out of the box” in those days. In fact, one of the features I miss every day in my iPhone’ Mail app is to wrap emails as conversations… they’re just so useful once you learn it!
Recently the Gmail team made slight changes to its interface. No secrets here, we all know Gmail web interface is a bit akward. I find it curious that its web presence is not so polished as its iPhone version. Gmail and YouTube for the iPhone are really setting the bar for other iPhone developers… and honestly I’m finding myself watching videos in the YouTube web application rather than the native iPhone app. It just works better.
It’s also already known that they are a bit reticent with design. I can understand the thinking behind this. However, they are slightly improving the user interface of each of their web applications. If you are curious of the design process behind Google products, read an in-depth look from Douglas Bowman here.
So when I logged in to check my emails today, I found the new Gmail. Compressed, with too much contrast, and some curious UI decisions (like the placement of the “Compose mail” button), it just looks strange, very strange for me. So I made a quick mockup on how I would like to see Gmail. Again, restricting myself by thinking that they are reticent towards new design ideas, and that they should maintain their brand identity over time. Have a look:
How Gmail could look. Click on the screenshot to enlarge it.
I tried to give more white space to the overall interface, so the emails list doesn’t look just as a unreadable block of text with no proper line height. Each email has certain actions (drag, mark and star) that are now more separated between them, so they can be more easily clickable (following the Fitts’s law).
I found out that two of the three main principal links on the current Gmail (Mail, Contacts and Tasks) that are placed in top left area, could work as tabs, except for Tasks (this link opens a to-do list window similar to a chat conversation). So I placed Mails and Contacts as proper tabs, and leaved Tasks as an item in the left sidebar. This way I can group similar items and give users a hint on their importance and what to expect when clicking. I also placed the more important element of the interface, the “Compose mail” button next to these tabs.
Finally, the list of Gmail folders is also revamped a bit: The current folder has a different font size, and it’s also set in bold, so you won’t miss or doubt what folder you are looking at.
Again, this is a really quick mockup on how Gmail could look, based on their restrictions of brand/design identity. An extensive work could be made. How do you like this?
