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Did You Notice Something a Little Different?
UPDATE: Thanks for all the feedback! For those of you who were having issues with blurriness, we have good news: we pushed out an update this afternoon that improves the sharpness of the font for users who were affected. We’re monitoring all the comments and will keep you posted on any further updates.
If you’re a frequent visitor to Goodreads, you've probably noticed a few tweaks we’ve made to the fonts and colors on the desktop site today. Our goal with these small-but-important changes was to consolidate and refresh our visual styles and lay the groundwork for some design improvements that we’re planning in the future.
What’s different?
To enhance the readability of text on Goodreads, we’ve adopted two new open-source fonts. Lato, our sans-serif font, was designed by Warsaw-based designer Łukasz Dziedzic (“Lato” means “Summer” in Polish). Merriweather, our serif font, was created by Eben Sorkin and was designed to be pleasant to read on screens.
To make it easier to scan the page for information you need, we’ve touched up and modernized the design of common page layout elements like section headers, tabs and links.
To simplify and modernize our visual design, we’ve reduced the number of link colors we use, removed gradients from buttons and the site navigation, and applied a more harmonious color palette to interactive elements such as buttons, stars, and links.
Before:
Comments Showing 1,951-2,000 of 3,113 (3113 new)
message 1951:
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Jessica
(new)
Dec 16, 2015 09:02AM
It is so much better and cleaner now, even with such small changes.
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I don't know what browser you were using. but it is blurry now in a way it NEVER was blurry before. Very hard to read.
GR, I think you have your verdict from over 2K users: MOST OF US DON'T LIKE YOUR ATTEMPT TO "FIX" WHAT WASN'T BROKE!
It is harder to read - even though I have increased size on my screen. Other folks are complaining about headaches too, which I get. Sometimes, what isn't broken doesn't need to be "fixed"
![Cheshire Cat [Heidi]~ We're All Mad Here ~](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1454696753p1/40221410.jpg)
Tania wrote: "I just asked for half stars"Yeah, they should have added that.
Don't see what everyone's problem is - this is totally fine! I like it!
Elena wrote: "To everybdy who has trouble reading because it's too small/faint: it gets better if you press ctrl and + (and to go back, - ), just maj sure you keep pressing on ctrl when you press + as well. It's..."Thanks for that Elena. It's tons better now :)
OK, the font looks better now. I still personally prefer the way it was two days ago or so, but I guess I could get used to it.
Just like others have already expressed, the font is difficult to read. At my end, it's all blurry and some letters seem bold while others aren't. It looks like something is wrong with my computer, but when I go to other websites things look just fine. The color scheme is all fine, but the font change is really problematic. Especially to those of us who already wear glasses and have a hard time staring at screens.
It looks a little better today but I did change the size of my lettering (although it doesn't appear to have changed at all) and upped my enlargement to 100%. But it still hurts my eyes and gives me a headache.
Please go back to the old way.
How do you apply this fix for Chrome? I am having a very hard time with this new look.
Elora wrote: "The white is too bright and the words are still swimming on the page. :("This this this. The white background is TOO BRIGHT to look at. I'll get eye strain. And the font makes my eyes blur trying to read it. It's like an optical illusion and very off-putting.
Also, when looking at my shelves, there needs to be a bigger color difference between the shelf you're on and the other shelves. It's hard to see the variation between the green and tan.
Gina wrote: "How do you apply this fix for Chrome? I am having a very hard time with this new look."Google Chrome extension Stylish and click the install button. Then browse the styles and you'll see "goodreads fix" and apply that style.
Thanks!But, I cannot install on a work computer. :(
Sonya wrote: "Gina wrote: "How do you apply this fix for Chrome? I am having a very hard time with this new look."
Google Chrome extension Stylish and click the install button. Then browse the styles and you'll..."
Goodreads - Is there another "fix" for this new look besides installing something? I use your site for my work but cannot install on a work computer.
The new font is less appealing to me. It is not blurry but I feel like I am trying to read computer code, rather than the comfort of a book type font. (I don't like reading books from Kensington Books for this reason)
While I do like the new font changes, I definitely hope that GR is looking at the majority of these comments. Most of the comments are negative. The fonts may not bother me, but they're clearly bothering a plethora of other people. The attempt to fix something that wasn't broken has me baffled.
I actually didn't have a problem with the previous font...but it's impossible to please everyone.
Dear Goodreads team,for me this new "refreshing" is not working. I'm using Mozilla Firefox v. 42.0 and main titles of the books are blurry and out of focus. I don't know how other users experience this new font with Chrome or IE.
Very difficult to read the Lato font. Sans serif fonts are not appropriate for writing text, they are more difficult to read in paragraphs than are serifed fonts. This makes it far more difficult to enter/edit reviews, particularly for those who do not have young eyes.The layout changes are ok, the font for writing text is not.
I know we all sound like a bunch of whiners who can't tolerate change, but that's really not the case. I'm not the person who complains whenever Facebook or Twitter changes up the format. It's all fine with me.But this font? It really is harder to read—at least in the upper corner where our "Currently Reading" list is displayed. That's where I notice the change the most. It looks all faded, like an old typewriter that needs a new ribbon.
Still blurry. I thought my desktop had zoomed in. I don't want to spend any time on Goodreads at all now, which is a pity.
I am using Firefox version 32.0 on a Macbook. The letters are not blurring or disappearing for me. This wasn't happening before, but now my head is hurting when I look at it, and I don't know why. Visually, it's fine; I still don't like it, but it doesn't hurt my eyes. Just my head.
Choko wrote: "I really do not give a darn about what it looks like, but I have stopped getting my notifications from buddy reads and friends.... PLEASE, FIX THE NOTIFICATIONS!!!!"Same here, fwiw.
Oh, GoodReads... What happened? What is happening? You are pitting your members against each other over FONTS. I am apparently in the majority of your users, and no word on what is actually going on up top. Dissemination is important, and in the case of a site-wide update such as this, should be a priority, alongside creating fixes and patches for the new 'look'.
It is still so very difficult to read. It seems like the website is swimming. Sadly I do not want to stay on goodreads. I came to look up some information and realized that I will have to find it elsewhere as I am having too difficult a time with eye strain. Is there anyway that we could have a different colored warmer toned background?
Worm wrote: "I know we all sound like a bunch of whiners who can't tolerate change, but that's really not the case. I'm not the person who complains whenever Facebook or Twitter changes up the format. It's all ..."Exactly! I didn't know how to express it, but that's what it is. an old typewritter in need of a new ribbon.
I'm not one who complains either, but this is actually difficult to read.
Hm, I don't think serif fonts are a good choice for big amounts of text on a computer/tablet screen such as reviews, comments, status updates. I see the sans-serif in my update feed and find it way better to read.
J.D. wrote: "Karitas wrote: "it's a sort of eye stabing color"LOL!
Design List
Background color: eye stab white
Font size: subatomic
Font width for sans-serifs: thin enough to blow away in a strong wind
Let..."
I think I'm a little in love with this post. Thank you for summing it up so well. A few SMALL changes are nice but when you make A LOT of BAD changes all at once, people get mad :(
It looks so flat and empty... I prefer the old version with the shadowing effect... :/
I don't love the font at all. I actually find it more difficult to read. Not impossible mind you, but not an improvement.
the font is p small.... my eyes are already awful from reading so much ; ~ ;
It's better now. I can read the words clearly. Thank You! ^_^
This is literally the worst. I had absolutely zero problems with the previous font. I love Goodreads so much, but this makes me not want to visit the site anymore. Please, for the love of God, change it back. Also, who the heck was the graphic designer? Not aesthetically pleasing AT ALL. This is my finals week and I do not appreciate changes to one of my favorite websites. So upsetting on so many levels. I hope someone is reading the comments because it looks like 95% of people are extremely unhappy. This is literally giving me a headache. WHY??????????
Frankly speaking this is happening with almost every icons and websites. This 'minimalistic approach' is not good for every website at all. Goodreads had a very brigh and cheerful vibe and this shade really ruins it. Clearly feels like some unknown website. And the font is unreadable.Sorry but I do not like this at all.
I like the new layout/headers...but the serif font is hard to read and unpleasant for the eyes. The sans serif font is ok, although a little narrow. (Chrome/Windows 10)
I find this new font way harder to read, to be honest. Still love this site though.
J.D. wrote: "Karitas wrote: "it's a sort of eye stabing color"LOL!
Design List
Background color: eye stab white
Font size: subatomic
Font width for sans-serifs: thin enough to blow away in a strong wind
Let..."
YES! Love this post! I'm a never complainer, too, but I spend a LOT of time n goodreads, and the font of the comment section alone is killing me. I hope they are working on this because their designers had NO idea what they were doing!!
The previous font was definitely better, this one is mistake.
Like others, I find it's hard to see with this font. The text is very light on my screen wherever there is multiple lines of text, while bolded text is much easier to read. Please make the font darker!
The main font is still way too blurry. Firefox 42.0 and IE 11.0.9600.18015. I don't care about colours and the like, but reading something on the Goodreads website on screen for some time makes my head dizzy. Please also avoid having to install something (work computer).
The font is blurred and very difficult to read when it's black-on-white, but it becomes a painful eyestrain when the font color is teal instead of black (or a darker color). And is the font black, or is it gray? It's so blurry that it's hard to tell.Teal is a lovely color, but it does not offer enough contrast to be useful for text. The combination of font fuzziness and insufficient color contrast makes reading a line of teal-colored text an effort in intense concentration and unpleasant eyestrain.
I'm using the most current version of Chrome on an Inspiron ONE desktop.
