Microsoft revealed the new look for Bing image search this week, bringing the service in line with recent changes to the main search service. Bing image search now more closely resembles the Metro look and feel, with large, graphical thumbnails arrayed in a grid pattern.
“Say goodbye to tiny thumbnails and hello to an endless stream of big, beautiful pictures from across the web,” Bing program manager Jon Noronha writes in the Bing Search Blog. “Bing has always been known for its great image search, and now we’re making the whole experience even more immersive and fun.”
Microsoft announced its overhaul of the Bing user experience in early May. At that time, it debuted a cleaner and simpler look with more white space and, somewhat controversially, a social networking sidebar.
The Bing image search changes aren’t as likely to garner the same criticisms. The main Bing image search page now features a clean, grid-based design with thumbnails showing the most popular image searches.
And the search results page continues that theme, though it extends off into the ether at the bottom of the page.
As the Bing post notes, there are a ton of other nice new features too. These include:
Magnifying glass. Hover over an image and you’ll see a larger preview thumbnail. “You can hold up this ‘magnifying glass’ to any picture,” Noronha notes, “and see its size, title, and where it comes from. It’s smooth, fluid, and a little bit addictive.”
Filter bar. Bing’s advanced search tools include filters for searching by size, color, type, layout, and faces.
Search suggestions. Bing suggests refinements that make search queries more specific so you find what you need faster. Microsoft says it has “completely revamped these related searches to make them higher quality and more relevant for everyday tasks.”
There’s more, but you get the idea. Check out Bing image search today to see the new experience.
