Google equates Gemini’s gradient design to 1984’s smiling Macintosh

A post on Google Design this week takes a look at the design and illustration of the Gemini app, with gradients playing a big role.

Google considers AI assistants to be an “uncharted design territory” akin to the original (Happy) Macintosh graphical user interface in 1984.

Using simple visual metaphors, [designer Susan Kare] made abstract digital processes tangible and intuitive for new users: a trash can, a paintbrush, a smiling computer face. Her icons weren’t just pixels; they were bridges between human understanding and machine logic. 

Google says “Gemini faces a similar challenge around accessibility, visibility, and alleviating potential concerns.” This is in part due to its “always evolving nature” and general “conceptual gaps around AI.” 

What is Gemini’s equivalent of Kare’s smiling computer face?

For Google, gradients are the answer to “gently guide users into the new collaborative world with Gemini” and…