Material Design is a Google-created design language for Android that supports touchscreen interactions with cue-rich features and natural movements that mirror real-world items. Material Design, codenamed “Quantum Paper,” was published in 2014 as a design language that Android developers could utilize to create better apps through good design. Google also adopted Material Design to redesign the look of its applications. It facilitates onscreen touch experiences by utilizing user-anticipated touch motions and animation that imitate real-world items. Material Design is the ideal combination of flat design methods that encourage site efficiency with realistic lighting, animation, and effects that give web designers the ideal tool for maximizing user experiences.
The significant departure in website design principles to fit smartphone demands spawned the design revolution that we know as Material Design today. The days of inconsistent design principles that depended primarily on the web developer’s design approaches with little respect for the intended user experience are long gone. Material design pushed online design in the direction of simpler, cleaner, and more user-anticipated digital experiences that felt more responsive and intuitive. When you factor in the rapid increase in app development and cleaner, quicker webpages, it’s evident how much Google’s Material design shifted the entire landscape for online developers and consumers.
While Google’s Material Design philosophy is currently the gold standard for website and app development on the internet across all platforms, its journey to become the most sought-after design system was not always easy. In this post, you will learn about the origins and acceptance of Material Design, as well as its following revisions, benefits and drawbacks, and contemporary applications in the design industry.
MATERIAL DESIGN – HOW IS IT DIFFERENT?
The main distinction between Material Design and most other design methods produced in the past and after it is its adaptability. Material Design was not created for a specific brand or purpose. Instead, it was intended to act as a design guideline for the entire internet. It was first created for the creation of Android apps. The objective was to create a design system that was simple to use and consistent across all devices. Google eventually adopted Material design to revamp all of its applications in order to make them more user-friendly and intuitive. Google Material was code-named “Quantum Paper,” which is not surprising given that it was supposed to replicate real-life materials with a flat appearance but shadows and texture. It wasn’t long before it became the standard design framework for both the Android and iOS platforms.
WHAT MAKES MATERIAL DESIGN TICK?
To comprehend what makes it distinct and different from all previous systems, we must first explore the design approaches that existed prior to Material Design in order to grasp what the new design system accomplishes differently:
SKEUOMORPHISM It is the practice of creating UI components that resemble the real-life counterparts of the items on which they are based. This design method was applied to the creation of website backdrops and icon designs. On the home screen, for example, the camera app seemed to be a real camera.
While skeuomorphism was visually appealing because it evoked memories of interacting with the items on which the icons and websites were based, it proved to be too distracting for most users. Furthermore, skeuomorphic designs were utilized for no other purpose than to be trendy, as they offered no further user experience.
FLAT DESIGN The goal of Flat design was to reduce the extravagance of skeuomorphism while still being able to portray items in real life exactly as they appear. The idea behind flat design was to take the most realistic aspects of classic skeuomorphic designs and make them seem flat. Clean, efficient, and useful designs appeal to both developers and users.
Flat Design was the ideal web design system. Unfortunately, flat Design had its own limitations. It subjected the user to a lot of doubts that come with not knowing where to click and a lack of direction on touch interfaces. Finally, while the flat design was excellent, it caused a lot of confusion among customers.
Material Design took the greatest elements of skeuomorphism and Flat Design and integrated them into one, then improved on them. Material design, like skeuomorphism, draws design inspiration from real-life things but does not exactly replicate them. Material design incorporates real-world elements that give items a feeling of shape and depth, such as shadows, highlights, defined edges, colour changes, and more, into the creation of digital forms. As a result, Material Design mainly depends on flat designs, yet the pieces are permitted to act like paper in real life with minimum features.
HOW IS MATERIAL DESIGN USED TODAY?
Material Design, like its predecessors, had a major issue that needed to be addressed. Designers were actually required to adhere to pre-defined templates and modules of what was deemed to be good design. The issue with Material Design was that everyone was using the same design framework and standards. A design system is intended to be created for a brand in order for its own visual style to be formed, regularly applied, and maintained. However, if a design system that allows the creation of websites or applications quickly and easily, becomes available to the general public, everyone is likely to get on board. As a consequence, the websites and applications will seem the same.
Taking cognizance of criticism and suggestions, there is now a strong emphasis on white space, the use of bottom navigation bars, and the addition of colorful icon sets along with the dark mode. Much of the original system remains intact in today’s Material Design. It has been updated with strong emphasis on web accessibility and globalization. As a result, Material Design’s rules are evolving in tandem with the times. Sure, the design system and rules are still in place, but there is now a plethora of tools available that allow designers to pick whatever part of the system they find useful and modify it to their own needs.
ADVANTAGES OF MATERIAL DESIGN
- The design methodology and philosophy are considerably more flexible and powerful these days, allowing designers to take what’s excellent about Material Design and truly make it their own.
- Material Design pushes designers to think about design beyond mere look and feel. As a consequence, interfaces become more user-friendly, and the whole user experience improves.
- For developers and designers who want to get the most out of Material Design, Google provides substantial documentation and help.
- Material Design, which originated as a design framework for Android applications, is a mobile-responsive approach to design and is credited for further pushing websites in that direction. It gives a thorough review of each of the essential components and behaviors of a UI, as well as their importance in design and how to apply them.
DISADVANTAGES OF MATERIAL DESIGN
- Material Design was primarily intended for app designers, therefore some aspects of it aren’t particularly applicable to website design. And if a designer is unable to use the full system, the final interface may feel inadequate.
- Some design principles, such as colorful interfaces, extensive iconography, and animations, may cause a website to load slowly.
- The websites and apps run the risk of appearing alike when the design philosophy is followed to the Tee.
CONCLUSION
While Material Design is far from a perfect design system, it has fulfilled its initial goal admirably. It introduced improved design techniques to the web and began to shift everyone’s focus toward highly usable, responsive design. Material Design philosophy encourages developers to follow a contemporary set of design principles to guarantee that the user’s experience is constantly prioritized. Google went on to create basic design principles for Material Design as well as configurable Material Design systems to guarantee that the system’s rules do not constrain the designer’s creativity.
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