The first change you'll notice when exploring the new interface is that "Find people" has been changed simply to "People", which makes far more sense than the prior, as you're not just finding, but managing as well.
"Find People"
The landing tab is "Find people", which apart from a visual update for consistency with the rest of the new-look across Google+, is actually largely the same. The menu which filters suggestions based on work places, schools and Gmail has shifted to the left, with the usual grid of suggestions taking centre place.
A search box has been added at the top of the menu, inviting you to "Search for anyone". In-line search is a welcoming feature, and typing a name brings up results instantly.
The light grey background across all of Google+ is less jarring than before the recent changes, and it helps bring the focus to the content. It helps your eyes (or at least mine) focus when viewing dozens of people at a time.
As you know, the "Added You" tab makes it easy to see who has added you, and will display the most relevant (most likely to add) people first.
There is now a helpful message for newer users which separates the People and Your circles sections. The message reads "Drag people to your circles to follow and share". This helps clear up any confusion for those who've just joined Google+.
The look and feel of Circles hasn't changed since launch, and although nothing major has changed as far as the layout is concerned, it now has a splash of paint and has been cleaned up nicely, and I'm not complaining.
Each individual circle has a different colour which helps differentiate circles from each other and is easier to spot a specific circle at a quick glance of an eye. I don't know why Google+ decides on certain colours for certain circles, but it would be interesting to look into the algorithm if there is one.
Google loves the card UI trend that they initated with Google Now, and now across a slew of their other products (Google+ app, Google Play, Currents). People are now displayed in cards, and it looks beautiful, especially compared to the "bubbles", which was the norm across the Ribbon UI introduced in April 2012.
Do you find that you're utilising the Circles tab more these days? Let us know your thoughts and comments!
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| Before (Ribbon UI) |
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| Now - A pixel perfect update |
"Added You" and "Your Circles"
As you know, the "Added You" tab makes it easy to see who has added you, and will display the most relevant (most likely to add) people first.There is now a helpful message for newer users which separates the People and Your circles sections. The message reads "Drag people to your circles to follow and share". This helps clear up any confusion for those who've just joined Google+.
The look and feel of Circles hasn't changed since launch, and although nothing major has changed as far as the layout is concerned, it now has a splash of paint and has been cleaned up nicely, and I'm not complaining.
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| The new circles: Easier on the eyes |
Google loves the card UI trend that they initated with Google Now, and now across a slew of their other products (Google+ app, Google Play, Currents). People are now displayed in cards, and it looks beautiful, especially compared to the "bubbles", which was the norm across the Ribbon UI introduced in April 2012.
Do you find that you're utilising the Circles tab more these days? Let us know your thoughts and comments!