The Google Discover feed on millions of Android home screens has had a dramatic renaissance. This update includes a Full-Width Layout for Discover cards to make the experience more immersive and visually pleasing. 

But for whatever reason, such a dramatic shift has met with varying reactions, with some questioning the design decisions. Whether it is a good or bad thing that the aesthetics are ruined.

The Full-Width Layout

This update’s core change lies in the switch. It ranges from a traditional card layout with rounded corners margins to a full width, as it is presented now. 

In other words, Discover cards now take up the size of the whole screen. It does so by eliminating the old visual separation and making the flow more continuous, edge-to-edge. 

Along with changes to the visual hierarchy, titles and images are usually given more room in this redesign. Though they may appear more prominent.

User Reactions and Criticisms

They have been met with a wave of feedback, with many users expressing their dislike. Common criticisms include:

Elimination of margins and full width presentation have some users feeling the feed visual clutter. Although there are no clear visual separations between cards, this makes it more difficult to easily identify individual content items.

This may make some users' titles and images appear larger than they normally would. Some of these users may prefer a more lightweight appearance. This is particularly true when you are using a full-width layout. Since this makes it hard to scan headlines and to quickly get the gist of each card's content.

The New design is less pleasing to the eye compared to the card layout used in the previous product. According to them, the newer design lacks the visual polish and refinement of the older design.

Many have questioned the usability of this design when used to view the feed on bigger screens. The full-width layout also contributes to less efficient focusing on content items and navigating through the feed.

Potential Motivations Behind the Redesign

However, the reactions of users have been overwhelmingly negative. However, it’s good to think of the reasons behind Google's introduction of this redesign. Some possible explanations include:

More visibly prominent and immersive

It may be that Google is trying to increase user engagement with Discover cards being more visually prominent and immersive. However, a wide layout may lead users to spend additional time in the feed.

In Line with Other Google Products

Consistency with other Google products could be Google’s aim to achieve a more consistent visual look on its different products and services. This full-width design could tie in with a bigger effort to sync Discover with the rest of Google apps.

Focus on Visual Content

Some people have speculated that the redesign is indicative of Google’s growing attention to focus on visual content. There is more room for images and videos to be noticed in the feed.

The Future of Google Discover's Design

Whether or not Google will address the fears expressed by the users. It update the full-width redesign remains to be seen. The strong feedback for the negative causes Google to iterate on the design.

Typically, the company conducts A/B tests to assess how users feel about its products. So familiarity with user opinions is something that’s bound to factor into the future of Google Discover’s design.

The Wrap Up

With all its full-width redesigns, Google Discover is a bold visual experiment that not everyone has welcomed. It's not clear why the company is making this change. It will offer a clutter-free visual experience. This will be more readable and thus more aesthetically pleasing to the eye. 

But there are always new things to learn about. User feedback from Google along the way means that Google Discover’s design will remain uncertain. The point of this redesign is that even insignificant changes can have a huge influence on the user experience. User feedback is essential to shape the future of digital products.

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