Gmail’s Contact Cards Have Been Redesigned

In keeping with Google’s incremental updates philosophy, Gmail has just revamped the contact cards. It’s not a major change, but some things are different and others have been moved about. Google has already introduced several redesigned elements and, at this pace, the entire interface will be redesigned, one element at a time.

The changes aren’t radical by any means. In fact, most people are likely to not even notice them. The action buttons, Email, Chat and More, have been moved to the bottom and the name and email address of the contact are now better highlighted. The card also drops the think blue border in favor of a much more subtle and elegant thin gray one and a shadow effect.

That’s pretty much it and there aren’t any changes in functionality. There is one small detail that may prove important in the long run. The action buttons are now smaller and don’t take up the entire length of the element. This allows the team more flexibility in the lengths of the buttons, which varies depending on the language used and the context.

But the change may also be a preemptive move to make space for new buttons if, or rather, when Gmail implements some new functionality. Of course, minor ones would be easily added to the More menu, but something like phone calls, courtesy of an extended Google Voice program, would definitely get a dedicated button.

And with Google Voice functionality coming to Gmail one way or another, potentially very soon, complete with the option to call any phone number in the world from inside the email app, the move would make sense. Then again, it may very well be just a design choice. Still, the chat window has also been redesigned recently and we have also gotten a glimpse of a phone dialer for Gmail, so things may be moving in that direction. [via Google Operating System]