A Web Designer's Thoughts on Bing

All the web pundits are trying to forecast the potential success or failure of Microsoft's new search engine Bing. I'm not smart enough to do that. I'm just a web designer. So, as a designer, I will share my thoughts on the "look and feel" of Bing.

I like the design of Bing. In fact, I would consider this the best designed product to ever come out of Microsoft. The home page offers an image a day that is truly interesting, and informative in a appealing way. There is a playfulness in the presentation that adds a bit of fun to the search process. I often find myself stopping to learn more about the cover photo or being distracted by something seen on a page during a search. The overall presentation is both clean and colorful, and makes excellent visual application of current web coding 'tricks of the trade.'

Comparing Google to Bing is like comparing a performance oriented BMW to the plusher Cadillac CTS. Google is pure performance with little fluff, Bing is a plush luxury vehicle with some performance enhancements. For now, Google is my preference for raw results. However, I am keeping a close eye on Bing, visiting at least once a day. The search engine race has suddenly become interesting!