After Search, Google Shows Off Fresh New Look for Calendar, Blogger, Gmail and YouTube

In addition to introducing its latest social product i.e. Google Plus+ and a new look for Google Search, Google has been up to several other things as well, in an attempt to bring together all its services under the "Plus" umbrella, such as unveiling a revamped interface for Google Calendar, Maps, Blogger, Gmail & YouTube and also additionally rebranding some non-Google-name services such as Picasa and Blogger and rename them as Google Photos and Google Blogs, respectively, in an effort to unify its brand.

Blogger

Blogger still remains to be one of the grand old daddies of blog platforms and while remaining widely used, its interface has barely changed since it was acquired by Google in 2003. But seems that’s set to change now, since yesterday, they’ve started rolling out to the users, a radically overhauled interface, which is cleaner and has been built on Web Toolkit for creating high performance Ajax-based user experience.

Also, there’s a new content discovery feature that lets you uncover interesting and related content based on the topics of the blog you’re currently reading. The video below offers glimpses of it all.

YouTube

Google has unveiled a completely new look for the YouTube interface, calling it Cosmic Panda, which is a TestTube experiment.

You can become part of the experiment by heading over to the Cosmic Panda page and turning it on, in order to check out the new interface, from which you should expect the following:

1. More page designs and better editing tools to customize your channel.

2. Keep watching when moving between videos, playlists, and channels (Google Chrome only).

3. Stylish new look and feel.

Learn more about Cosmic Panda.

Gmail

As of June 30, Google started letting users try the new look of Gmail by heading to Mail Settings, once signed in to Gmail, then switching to the "Themes" tab to select and apply one of the two newly introduced themes: "Preview" and "Preview (Dense)".

Unlike the ordinary themes that address color scheme, the two new themes are part of a larger redesign that addresses elements like the size, shape and color of the Compose & Search button, and other navigation controls, such as a large, red “Compose” button instead of the smaller gray one, and sharper edges throughout the design.

The color scheme of these two preview themes remains predominantly red, white, and gray, but Google says more colors will follow, including dark themes, alternative palettes, and illustrations.

With the changes, Google is attempting a cleaner, more modern look. However, Google warns users who switch over that some experimental Labs features may look out of jibe for the time being.

Google Calendar and Maps

You’ll also notice the new look for Google Calendar, which Google says is the first in a series of changes to make their products more consistent and intuitive for a more enjoyable and productive experience. Google says the changes are just cosmetic & have not affected the way Calendar works and that users should expect more changes soon in a variety of other Google products as well.

You can revert back to the old look by clicking on the gear icon and choosing “Use the classic look” and turn it back on by going to the gear icon and choosing “Try the new look.”

A summary of the current changes are as follows:

1. The “Quick add” function is now under the down arrow next to the “Create” button.

2. Calendars selected for viewing in your My calendars and Other calendars lists will have colored arrows next to them as opposed to colored backgrounds.

3. “Print” and “Refresh” buttons are now icons and not text links.

4. Visual indicator icons (alarm clock icon for events with reminders, person icon for events with guests, etc.) will only show when hovering over the event.

5. My calendars & Other calendars lists on the left, and the mini month view calendar under the “Create” button are collapsible using the small gray arrow.

Google also updated its Maps today. Google Maps are updated to include places you’ve saved or rated, adding clout to Google Places, Google’s evolving shopping products and possibly, Google’s adventure into the daily deals space with Offers.