In its latest phase of prettying up YouTube, Google has introduced a site makeover. The revamp, codenamed Cosmic Panda, cuts down on some of the clutter and offers a more minimalist, clean way to use YouTube.
Cosmic Panda hasn’t been rolled out officially quite yet, but if you visit the link above you can start enjoying its new layout. The biggest improvement is that scrolling through comments or information below the video will no longer put the content out of view, instead it will navigate through the underlying text, leaving video in full sight. Channel pages have more emphasis on video and less on text description, another nice upgrade.
Playlist view may be one of the most noticeable updates, however. The black background and centered video makes it much easier to focus on the actual content, and the other videos are located below the one you’re watching, instead of off to the side.
All in all, a much cleaner, more professional design for YouTube – exactly the direction Google wants to take it in. YouTube was formerly something of a mess, and given its popularity and ambitions, it’s high time for a makeover. And if you don’t like it, you can always switch back (at least for the time being).
