Every day, you help people navigate and discover their world by sharing your real-life experiences. Whether you’re reviewing a hidden gem in your neighborhood or mapping new roads, your contributions are the foundation of a helpful Map.
Google Maps continues to evolve, from a navigation tool helping you get to where you need to go, to a more vibrant, immersive, and assistive way to explore the world. And the design has modernized alongside it. As part of this evolution, and to recognize the incredible impact you make, we are giving Local Guides a refresh, with a new look and feel that reflects the future of this community within a modern Google Maps.
Here’s what’s new:
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An all-new Local Guides badge. Upon reaching Level 4, Local Guides will unlock our sleek, 5-point star badge. The design features a new gradient that bridges Local Guides’ history with our future, flowing from our classic orange into a vibrant, modern Maps blue. The star at the center of the badge is a nod to the star ratings you share about local places and businesses.
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More modern views. To help shine a light on your progress, we’ve introduced a color-scaling progress bar in the Contribute tab and a responsive background on your profile that shimmers as you move your phone.
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Celebrating Level 10. We have something extra special in store for our level 10 Local Guides! Your profile shimmer grows even brighter, and we’ve added an eye-catching star design around your profile picture. Your Local Guide Level 10 status is also highlighted with a dynamic shimmer to help you stand out even more.
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Redesigned contributor badges. Some of you may have seen that your contributor badges have been updated with a fresh and delightful feel. Whether you’re a novice photographer or an expert reviewer, your badges evolve and become more detailed as you progress.
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Something new for Connect. We’ve updated Connect with the new illustration style you will notice around Google Maps. It’s dynamic, bright, and reflective of our diverse community. Today, our homepage banner, and individual categories have been updated, and you might see new visuals rolling out as we share new posts.
While there’s a lot that’s changing, your current status in the program, and the way you earn points and level-up remain the same. This update is all about a modern look that reflects how core this community is to Google Maps.
We’ll be rolling these changes out to contributors across Google Maps over the next few weeks. We can’t wait for you to see it in action! Keep an eye on your app—and let us know what you think of the new look!!
