Google Chrome and the Future of Web Design

Posted on July 9th, 2009 by jason

Over in my other blog, JasonSpeaking, I’ve posted an analysis of the news from Google that Google Chrome OS is in Beta, with a final version to be released sometime (they say mid) next year.

From a Web design standpoint, the news of Google Chrome OS is of little interest and of great interest.

Because Google Chrome uses the Webkit rendering engine—the same rendering engine that Apple Safari uses—it means that there is little difference between designing for Safari or designing for Chrome. There have been a few inconsistencies between the browsers—depending on the build of Webkit they deploy in their live browser—but, for the most part, these differences are cosmetic. We can safely assume that this will continue to be true for Google Chrome OS

However, Google chrome OS could be a game changer in the arena of operating systems, and we may well see more applications that are currently run on the desktop migrate to the Web. As the Web becomes increasingly a place where we interact with each other and information (rather than just consuming it) Web designers are going to have to work more and more in the real of User Interface design. After all, Google Chrome will take care of the chrome.

Is this a good thing or a bad thing? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

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