Google Reader's Design Kinda Sucks

After reading about the design of social features for Google Reader, I was thinking about the overall design aesthetic of the product. Google Reader is just ugly. Why all of the blue and green boxes? It would fit in much better with Google's company brand if all of that was just left white. There are so many unnecessary design elements all over the thing. There are even inconsistent terminologies (folders and tags). They really need to revamp the whole look and consistency of the product. I use it everyday and think it's a really great product. The reader team really needs to stick with a simple UI that presents great content.

Google Reader's sidebar