Google toys with no-navbar design on its sites

Google continues to toy with new ideas for a uniform design for its websites, with the latest change involving the removal of the black navigation bar at the top of the screen.

 

A report on tech site The Next Web said the latest change, which followed a test that replaced the black navigation bar with a Chrome OS-like menu, could come at the cost of function.

 

“Google loves tweaking its homepage design to keep it as minimal as possible. Yet this changer clearly sacrifices functionality for form,” it said.

 

It noted the black navigation bar at present is the only thing linking together Google’s services, which include Gmail, YouTube, and Google+.

 

Google has been famous – or sometimes notorious – for its minimalist approach, as shown by the simple design of its homepage.

 

But The Next Web said that while an earlier test involving menus was understandable and could even be good for mobile devices, the absence of a navigation bar was “odd.”

 

“It’s an odd change, to say the least, and we hope Google has a good reason for it. We just can’t figure out what that might be,” it said. — TJD, GMA News