Compose styles
Rather than blending styles toward a middle, this gives them roles. The first one carries the structure, the next comes in as the accent, and anything after that shows up in a single detail. Where they fight each other, it says so before you start.
How to divide the work
- Composition
- Follow Material Design: Place elements on a grid of multiples of 8 and standardize the spacing
- Type
- Set in Material Design's manner (Build the hierarchy from one type family and separate levels by weight and size), and let Material You's lettering (Keep hierarchy in weight and scale so it survives changes of color) appear only where you want the eye to catch.
- Material
- Ground in Material Design's material (Give surfaces elevation and show front and back by the density of the shadow); bring in exactly one thing from Material You (Generate tonal palettes from a seed, then assign them to semantic surface and content roles).
- Colour
- Build on #dfd5ec, #6a5996, #020202 and admit one accent from #FEF7FF, #6750A4, #1D1B20.
Where they fight
- Material Design and Material You both belong to Google UI, so the difference is small. Push the roles further apart than feels comfortable.
Caution
- Material Design Do not add shadow as decoration. The moment the elevation rules break, the hierarchy is telling a lie.
- Material You Automatic color generation alone can produce unreadable interfaces. Contrast and semantic roles come first.
Image prompt
Produce four original images that take their structure from Material Design (style, 2014–) and their accent from Material You (style, 2021–). ## What to make Make the kind of thing Material Design exists for: distributing consistent behavior across several platforms, or communicating the depth of a hierarchy visually. Choose one subject and hold it across all four. ## Structure comes from Material Design - Hierarchy and shadow expressed by elevation - Surfaces overlapping like sheets of paper - Motion that shows cause and effect - A standardized unit of spacing Composition: Place elements on a grid of multiples of 8 and standardize the spacing. Type and lettering: Build the hierarchy from one type family and separate levels by weight and size. ## Accent comes from Material You, used sparingly - Harmonized colors derived from wallpaper - Large rounded cards and controls - Selection changes both color and shape - Broad spacing and large display type Let one material quality come from it: Generate tonal palettes from a seed, then assign them to semantic surface and content roles. ## Colour and feeling Build the ground on #dfd5ec, carry the structure in #6a5996 and #020202, and let a single accent come from #6750A4. These are read off real works, so a direction rather than a fixed palette. Feeling to carry: trust, technique, play, intimacy. ## Where they fight - Material Design and Material You both belong to Google UI, so the difference is small. Push the roles further apart than feels comfortable. ## What goes wrong - Material Design: Do not add shadow as decoration. The moment the elevation rules break, the hierarchy is telling a lie. - Material You: Automatic color generation alone can produce unreadable interfaces. Contrast and semantic roles come first. ## Across the four Keep the roles fixed in all four. Vary the framing, the scale and the arrangement so the set shows what this pairing can do rather than four versions of one picture. ## Constraints - Do not imitate, reference or name any specific artist, studio, brand, character or copyrighted work. - Do not reproduce the composition of an existing work. - Produce original compositions in the general period languages described above.
Related entries
- Material Design 2014– / Style / Google UI
A design system that reduces the physical metaphor of paper and ink to rules of shadow and overlap. Elements are given elevation, shadow states the hierarchy, and motion carries physical cause and effect. It became the model for UI design being distributed as a system. The 2021 revision added colour derived from the device wallpaper, so the palette differs from one user to the next.
- Material You 2021– / Style / Google UI
Material You makes adaptability itself consistent: dynamic color, generous shapes and personalized motion vary by person while semantic roles stay stable.
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