You Can Enable A New “Material Design” On YouTube

YouTube appears to be planning a redesigned version of its website, and while those changes haven’t been officially announced, you can take them for a test drive if you’re so inclined. The video site’s “material design” offers larger images and channel pages that put an increased focus on banners.

The ability to activate YouTube’s material design was first discovered by Reddit user giorgiomarinel, who posted step-by-step instructions on the /r/youtube forum. The instructions only seem to work for users who are not signed into YouTube, so if you want to check out material design, the best course of action is to open up an incognito browsing window in Google Chrome.

Mashable, which discovered the relevant Reddit post, shared some screenshots from its own foray into material design. The new layout, with its big images and banners, seems as if it will eliminate much of the white space within the video site’s current design. Those empty areas were a source of consternation back when the “YouTube One Channel

” layout was first rolled out in March 2013, so the material design could provide a much-needed update in that area.

Should YouTube make its material design into its default layout, the browser version of the video site will match its mobile version. A recent update to the YouTube app also put a big focus on thumbnail images, in hopes of increasing click-through rates and discoverability.

While no official details have been offered for the material design’s rollout date, YouTube could make more details available when it presents its annual Brandcast in New York on May 5th.

Above image via Android Police.