Ever since the introduction, Flat design has been the topic of discussion for all the designers and developers. Not only this, its the latest trend that is getting quite a good response. People are loving it for the fact that its visually appealing, simple, distraction-free, minimizes loading time and likewise. Another design trend that is much talked about is Material Design that too is the latest buzz.
Today, we decided to talk about Material Design in detail. So here we are to let you all understand Material Design well. We will be listing down some important things, elements, features and whatever it takes to make you all easily get well acquainted with the design trend namely Material Design. So, without further adieu, let me begin. Sit back and read on!
Should you go for Material Design?
If you are still confused if you should go for the Material Design or not for your upcoming design projects. The answer to this question will vary from project to project. It isn’t like one-size-fits-all answer. While making your pick, the very first question you should ask yourself is what exactly is the goal or what kind of design result you want to get. Depending on that look if Material Design suits your need and look for the functionality factor and don’t go for visual appeal itself. If you find Material Design guidelines apt and perfect fit for you to achieve the desired results then go for it.
What’s Material in Material Design?
At a certain level of abstraction the main idea behind the Material design was to make the designs more like the real world. Human beings understand materials well, so in material design, one need to learn the easy way out to convey the hierarchy of elements by using the absolute minimum of design tools like shadows, shades and likewise.
With the hope that this article of ours will help you come out of the dilemma here I am all set to list down important things that you need to know to understand the Material design. Also, if you are new to Material design, then this list of main principles will help you understand it well.
1. Bold Colors
Bold, graphic and intentional is one of the main principles of Material Design. In Material Design you cannot use, many design tools and styles, therefore it is important to create meaning and create the focus point. Use of bold colors can help solve the purpose. Bold colors play an important role in material design.
2. Making Optimum Use of Whitespace
Whitespace is one of the important elements in any Material Design. It helps improve the typography and text layout making it look appealing. Whitespace creates focus, grabbing the user’s attention and bringing it to a particular element. Add a lot of whitespace and leave the place without content.
3. Make Motion Authentic
Incorporate motion that is not fake instead authentic to make it appear real according to the laws of physics. Introduce mass and weight, acceleration and deceleration to make the motion authentic. In Material Design, motion has the ability to mimic the motion of real-life items thereby enhancing user-experience.
4. Extract Colors from the Images
Extract the colors from the images that are being used in the designs and make them part of the color palette. Its like making everything gelling well with each other.
5. Primary Color and Accent Color
Limit your selection of colors by choosing three of them from the primary palette and one accent color from the secondary palette. Use primary colors in the backgrounds, fields, boxes, fonts and accent color for displaying the main element on a given screen/page.
6. Use Edge-to-edge Images
Use edge-to-edge images in Material Design therefore leave no space for margins between the edge of the image and the edge of the window.
7. Shadows for Conveying Hierarchy
Realistic shadows are used for hierarchy of various elements that become the part of the design. Make the shadow structure such that it makes sense to the human eye.
8. Make Everything Responsive
With the increase in the number of people accessing the web from different gadgets like mobile phones, it has become important for designers to make responsive designs. Similar is the case with Material Design. Focus on making everything as responsive as possible.
Now, with that we end up with the list of important elements/principles of Material Design to help you properly understand what exactly it is and if you can make opt for it for your upcoming design project. Have anything to add? Leave your comments