Google is testing an alternative homepage design featuring a black navigation bar with white links. Appearing mainly for Firefox users, the color scheme is quite a different look from Google’s recently redesigned white navigation bar with blue links. The black bar also carries over when you conduct a web, image, or shopping search but vanishes when you click on Videos, Maps, News, and Gmail.
Here’s what Google’s homepage currently looks like on Firefox for me:
And here’s Google Image Search on Firefox:
But moving over to Safari, here’s what Google currently looks like (and has looked like since February):
After being tipped off by readers, Google Operating System was first to report on this international test, with screenshots from one of Google’s Spanish properties and comments from readers who are reporting seeing this test in the Netherlands. The first report I could find of the black nav bar appearing is also from Google OS in May.
In another test, YouTube is experimenting with a new black player with a redesigned control bar. Here’s a pic Google OS posted:
What do you think of the black navigation bar and the new YouTube player?