YouTube, the popular video sharing site has recently introduced a stripped back design for video player pages which it hopes will make the site more appealing and is potentially the key to its future success.

Back in 2009 YouTube announced it would be looking into soliciting professional content to increase revenue. The new light design is hoping to draw the attention of major film companies and movie studios as viewers will pay more attention to what they are watching and less to the interface surrounding it.

“[It] is more subdued…the container needs to feel like a welcoming home for everything from user-generated content to feature-length films. It’s an interesting design challenge,” said Youtube’s head of design and user experience, Margaret Stewart.

While the new design has not yet been rolled out to everyone, you can preview it here. The design has removed the “Broadcast Yourself” slogan, as well as the five-star rating system. The star system has been replaced with the more simplified like or thumbs down rating - which will allow you to add the video to your favourites if you wish. Another feature of the new version is that it keeps search results, playlists or recommended videos available even as you click through other content.

The new design currently allows viewers to switch back to the older version through a link in the upper right corner.

YouTube’s design changes come after the news that it’s working on a film rental service involving a small scale experiment teaming them with the Sundance Film Festival and is as well set to introduce live sport beginning in March.

Check out YouTube’s new design and let us know what you think. Would you use it, or do you prefer the original?