Why is Win 7 and Win Live mail so faded and washed out looking?

Is this by design? I can hardly read the print.

 

Hi,

My hotmail has outlook written on the top. But the display and design of the mail is so basic and hard to function with. What can I do? How can it go back to the old hotmail look or new outlook look?
Please help

the entire page design is strange - all text is coloured blue