The New gmail Interface

Without changing any functional part of its interface, gmail has managed to rope in Microsoft's top "designers" to all but ruin the formally serene website. The new skins, or "themes," are hideous, many hilariously so (i. e. "Candy"). As an example of how gmail failed where it could have succeeded, take the "Planets" theme. This theme changes are where one is located in the world, and could have been an awesome night sky shot, perhaps pointing at where the planets lie in reference to the viewer on any particular day. But no. The theme is mostly made up of a giant sun, forcing any blip of serenity out of the window. To me, this kind of failed opportunity to make something really awesome is grotesque, especially in an age where the possibilities are really quite endless, no matter how convinced Microsoft seems to be of the opposite.