It seems like everybody's doing some design update these days. First Facebook, then Mashable, and now Flickr is joining the redesign craze.
Today, Flickr released a sneak preview of its new design. Its intent is to roll this new layout sitewide in the next few weeks. By clicking the "sneak preview" link at the bottom of your home page, a shower of (very cool) Flickr balls fly from the heavens and transform your home page.
In the current version of the home page, you are able to get to your photostream, upload photos, find new friends, or simply browse through uploads. The current version does its job, but Flickr's new version has reorganized that information into a simple and social-friendly layout.
Explore seems to be the largest change to the design, but it is not a major design change overall. It seems clear that Flickr wants to promote the use of its social features and the best photos from the community, rather than simply using Flickr as an online photo album. In that regard, the new design succeeds in promoting new content, connections, and staying fresh while not changing so much that the userbase would revolt.