I had a recent debate over whether a border should be 3, 4 or 5 pixels wide, and was asked to prove my case. I can’t operate in an environment like that.
— Google’s visual design lead, Doug Bowman, is leaving the company after three years in the role. It’s difficult to comprehend that Google existed for its first seven years without a classically-trained designer on its payroll. I like Buzz Andersen’s take, that without a design-led focus, Google products will generally “fall short of achieving the emotional connection that people feel to an iPhone”. I use and enjoy many Google products, but I’ve never loved their aesthetic, no matter what the numbers say.
