Gmail Adds New “Inbox Zero” Graphic

Have you ever encountered an empty inbox on your Gmail account? Now, this mythical goal is more exciting to achieve as Google refreshed the “inbox zero” graphic to reward users who managed to clear their inboxes and reach the zero state. 

But What Makes it So Special?

Although you’re not likely to see the “inbox zero” icon ever in your life, the rewarding artwork deserves attention. The previous graphic was based on that overused trend for flat art styles that feature human characters with weird body proportions and basic colors. Of course, there’s nothing bad with the style, but it has already become some sort of a cliche for artworks in software products and websites. Now that you know what that style looks like, imagine a woman in a yellow blouse reading a book in a garden on a sunny day. 

Since then, Google has probably noticed that the art style becomes too widespread. The company decided to go a more abstract way while creating the new artwork. And, well, not it’s totally unclear what the picture means. It features 3 boxes of different sizes and colors and a red finish flag on top of one of the boxes. We also noticed the original celebratory message “You’ve finished!” was replaced with a “You’re all done!” message for some reason. 

The exciting thing is that the artwork combines the best of flat design and the supposedly-dead skeuomorphism that ruled the world of UI design up until the release of iOS 7. Is it a sign that the good old UI trend returns in a new shape? 

Any Thoughts?

What do you think the new artwork means in terms of the Gmail app and the UI design on the whole? We would be very excited to see your suggestions in the comments below. If you know anyone who’s into UI design, share this post with them too. More exciting news is on the way, so stay tuned!