Ask.com Has a New Look

Ask.com has a new look and feel that I really like. It defaults to a clean and simple look that can be customized with several different background images.

Seeing it makes me empathize with the long hours I know the designer(s) spent perfecting the “Search” button and the category icons. It is a wonderful reminder that we as designers should focus on what the users really want from the page and to make it as easy a transaction as possible. It also allows for a great deal of flexibility, which should definitely appeal to users.

Ask.com succeeds in giving the page a more fun look than the notoriously plain Google, but it is tough to argue Google’s dominance in the search field. The design is only one piece of the puzzle. It will have to be accompanied by better advertising and – most importantly – really good search results. CNet goes into more depth about the new look and other upgrades.

“A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” - Saint Exupery