Over the past couple of weeks, Google Maps has been widely rolling out a new color palette across its various apps, and the feedback has been mixed so far. Now that everyone has it, what do you think of the new colors in Google Maps?
Google Maps has for many years had the same warm color palette. The roads were yellow, the parks/forests were green, and the water was a vibrant, warmer shade of blue. But now everything has changed. The green became a bright mint color. The blue has gone into a cool and muted shade of color. Moreover, the roads are now always grey.
It’s a polarizing change, and one that you either love or hate.
From my personal usage, I think there is a lot of good, and a lot of bad.
On the good side, I think the green parks and forests are more clearly visible on the map. The new colors as a whole also look better separated from the badges used for restaurants, stores and other locations with pins. The gray color of the roads also makes the road names easier to read.
But on the other hand, everything looks cold and unattractive in terms of colours. This is largely down to personal preference, but there are actual downsides as well. For example, the new gray color for the roads effectively contradicts the design language that Google has inculcated for years. While driving, the previous color palette will show alternate routes in gray to differentiate from yellow. Now, alternate paths are a transparent blue that barely splits the difference between the default gray and the blue of your active path.
It’s disorienting to look at, and it’s even worse at night!
And it’s not just me. Elizabeth Laraque, a former Google employee who helped design the maps, Go to Twitter/X To talk about the issues with the new colors, but more about the busy design of the modern maps.
With all that said, what do you think of the new color palette for Google Maps? Do you think it’s improved? Is it worse? Do you get used to it? Let’s discuss in the comments below.
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