Too much variation between the company’s Live and MSN properties makes it look like the branding professionals had no input into the design.

Creative types may not be great fans of rigid conformity. But the majority of people seem comfortable with universal brands that present a known element no matter where they go. When you look at Microsoft’s Live Search and its MSN properties, one sees a passing resemblance, but definitely not a unified brand.

The Live Side blog tossed up some screenshots of the two properties to show the design inconsistencies. “While none of these pages is offensive or poorly designed, is it a common experience?” they asked.

We have to say no, despite the hefty traffic Microsoft’s web properties receive. The company has churned through a couple of people over the past three years over its web strategy, but so far no one apparently stood up and said “let’s get our branding together.”

Live Side cited the varying search buttons, boxes, and backgrounds among the Live and MSN properties as a few examples. Every destination is a little bit different. There’s no consistency.

ReadWriteWeb noted the persistent brand confusion goes beyond the Web. As tech industry observers know, Microsoft’s naming conventions tend toward the unwieldy; Windows Live Search for Windows Mobile, anyone?

Microsoft needs a benevolent dictator with a keen eye for web design and usability to take charge of the look and feel of search across MSN and Live. First order of business: fix the appearance of the search box and its options over all of those properties. Give the people what they want – order.