It looks like we might be in for another drive-by-shootingspateextremely disappointing spate of design changes...
Since there are already a lot of answers and quite a lot of text, let me stick to some key messages and principles.
Be more humble: Your design should be a public service, not a visionary experiment.
Start by reverting/fixing onerous and injurious previous design element changes
Some examples:
- Question list page lost its columns making it harder to read through
- The increase of line spacing to 1.5x justified by a false claim of a usability requirement.
- The introduction of an unnecessary left sidebar - it can be removed, but the default should change.
All of these were rejected by the users - some staunchly rejected - and still they persist.
Don't redesign without mass public demand. Just say no to that nasty urge.
In (website) design, Newer != Better and also Fashionable != Better.
Finally, remember the first ethical rule for doctors: Primum non nocere.