One of the big announcements and highly awaited entities of this year is Android L. Since its public outing back at Google’s I/O event everyone has been waiting to see more. What will it be called? When will it arrive? What will the finished product be like? One of the driving forces behind Android L is Google’s new design language underlying L, Material Design (MD). Google’s intention behind Material Design was to create a cleaner and more refined looking interface while also containing a more classic approach “Create a visual language that synthesizes classic principles of good design with the innovation and possibility of technology and science”.
From what has been released so far, Material Design does look to be a very new take on the Android Platform and represents almost a paradigm shift compared to previous improvements in the of language behind Android. In short MD will change and unify how we view Android in a whole new way. One of the main drivers for Google in regards to MD was to create a language which could be displayed on any (and all) screens throughout the varied technology we now use. Google literally wants to unify Android across all devices regardless of screen size or format “From the smallest smartwatch to the largest TV screen”. Google looks to be achieving this by almost creating a magazine or print look to MD with a high focus on refined typography and glossy imagery. This has been most apparent through the updates we have seen rolling out to the Google Play Store as well as other Google apps and services.
It now seems that it is not only consumers and developers who are getting caught up in the new Material Design waves. This week saw the annual UX Awards which looks to identify excellence in user experience (UX) and user focused digital design. At the event Google were awarded with the Gold Award in the ‘Best Contribution to UX’ category highlighting the industry itself is recognizing both what Google intends to do and are achieving. The UX awards look to identify software which enriches and enables user driver content resulting in a more streamlined and user friendly system. With Google being recognized this capacity will further add to the allure of MD. Congratulations Google. We can’t wait for Material Design to reach its potential…and reach us.