Manual
Google Material Design
Google Material Design
Google Material Design
Material Design is a system that Google developed in 2014 for various platforms and devices to provide a unified experience. In conceiving Material Design, Google took inspiration from the material world–paper, layering, space, and light—to create an interface that feels tangible and grounded in reality.
Google Design approached Manual to help launch Material Design at the Google I/O conference in 2014, with the brief to 'create a special limited edition printed artifact' that would be gifted to developers and designers.
Our visual inspiration came directly from the grid-based layouts, responsive animations and transitions, padding, and depth effects used in the design language.
Our creative strategy was to create an interactive 'kit' that would be inspirational, informational, and functional.
For the opening of the printed piece, we wanted to direct the users' actions in a way that honored the Material Design principles. We used a circular sticker taken from the 'primary action button' as a way to open and enter the printed piece.
Celebrating the team’s original inspiration of card and paper, we created a rich, tactile, and layered printed piece. Our concept was to reinterpret the graphic language of Material Design and present it in a reductive and physical way. The kit communicates a set of intentions and design principles through abstract visual postcards.
We used embossing, hand-glued elements, die cuts, and varnishes to create a set of highly tactile and dimensional graphic cards.
We used embossing, hand-glued elements, die cuts, and varnishes to create a set of highly tactile and dimensional graphic cards.
We used embossing, hand-glued elements, die cuts, and varnishes to create a set of highly tactile and dimensional graphic cards.
Each of the 9 design principles are outlined on the reverse of each card.
Also contained in the kit is a functional sketchbook that provides different UI templates for interface designers to sketch ideas during the conference workshops.
Material Design Awards
A year after introducing Material Design, Google wanted to acknowledge and recognize the individuals, teams and companies that had achieved excellence in applying material design to the creation of engaging user experiences. They asked Manual to create a physical award to be presented to the winners at 2015’s Google I/O conference.
We set out to represent a physical manifestation of Material Design, incorporated themes and ideas that are core to what Material Design is about; scale, layering and movement. The result is a beautifully crafted monolithic sculptural award made from pieces of solid Corian.
The rectangular shape echoes the ratio of a mobile screen, and as the shape ascends and descends in scale, the colors and rhythm changes. What you’re left with is an award that has gravitas and weight, but still looks light and playful.
The awards were presented to best-in-class applications around six specific aspects of Material Design; Adaptive Layouts, Crafted Simplicity, Delightful Animation, Elegant Typography, Immersive Imagery, Seamless Browsing. Each award was designed using the predominant color of the winning application, making each one completely unique and specific to the recipient.