10 Key Takeaways from Google’s Material Design Guidelines

Google is one of the biggest and most influential players in the tech space, so it’s no mystery why their design system has a tremendous impact on how digital products are designed. The company’s Material design guidelines outline worthwhile principles for every designer to follow — regardless of whether they’re designing for iOS or Android.

In this piece, I’ll share key takeaways that I found while reviewing Material’s guidelines and provide my take on how best to execute their rules and methods. I’ll review best practices as laid out in the Material guidelines and share my own experience and tips for best practices when applying them to your products.

1. Signifiers & animation to communicate gestures

• In the absence of other affordances, icons provide a clear indication that a gesture can be performed. — Material Gesture Guidelines

In The Design of Everyday Things, Don Norman, known as the father of human-centered design, defines signifiers as anything that indicates what actions are possible and how they should be done. In designing digital products, we don’t always need to be explicit with our signifiers and say things like “swipe left to view more.” Simple elements like icons, elevated containers, or colors can act as signifiers to prompt different gestures and actions.