Google Navs It Up
In case you have not noticed it, Google has slowly begun the process of making some "simplicity sacrifices" related to their expanding universe of product and service offerings. Take a visit to the Google Mobile site, the Google Voice site, and the new Google Nexus One site and you'll quickly see that the "simplicity of design" that was presented back in March 2009, isn't living up to the consistency strategy that was initially outlined. Many of the branding guidelines that were originally outlined, along with the supporting functionality of the related websites do not support the simplicity strategy.
I am not saying this is not bad or good. I also understand that these may be viewed as "stand alone" brands. It does, however, highlight the necessary evil when adding complexity to product offerings and the need to support the marketing of these on the web. The takeaway: A defined strategy needs to have room to evolve over time with the changing business climate.
