5 Reasons to Use Google’s Material Design Principles in Your Website Design

Google is one of the most influential companies in the tech world, so their design system has a huge impact on the way digital products work. Their Material design guidelines offer worthwhile principles for any web developer to follow.

When we make a website, we use Google’s material design principles and apply them to your web design. Here are five key reasons why.

Signifiers

A signifier is defined as the physical form a sign, such as a printed word, sound, or image, takes. In other words, a signifier indicates the action possible and how it is achieved. When it comes to web design, signifiers can be simple elements like icons or colors that prompt different actions. Many of the signifiers we’re accustomed to on our electronic devices are symbols rather than words. We have come to associate the symbol with the action it represents, such as the symbol for power off or the symbol for a text message.

Imagery

Sixty-five percent of people are visual learners, so visual content should play a central role in your website design. People are more likely to read text when it’s broken up by images. When we create a website, we include images that help you share your message with your customers. Images can tell a story and help establish your brand, but they should also enhance content, not replace it.

Animated Icon Transitions

Transitions connect animated icons and indicate that they are linked. An example of an animated icon transition is the play/pause button. Our website developers can add simple or complex transitions to your website depending on the level of emphasis you want to achieve. Simple transitions are used for icons that aren’t prominent. More complex transitions are used to emphasize icons that are important. You don’t want to overwhelm the user, so complex transitions should be used sparingly.

Animated icon transitions can be used to give your customers clues about what is happening in the system. A helpful animation is that of feedback, which tells the user an action they have performed has been recognized by the system. For example, when a customer adds an item to their cart, animation can help ensure that the customer notices the cart has been updated.

Color Palette

Creating an aesthetically pleasing color palette from scratch can be difficult and tedious. Material’s color palette generator creates a color scheme based on elements that you input. You need the following to represent your brand:

• A primary color, which is displayed most often and draws attention to the most important elements of your website;
• A secondary color, which provides some accent and should be used sparingly; and
• Dark and light variations.

In addition to being aesthetically pleasing, Material’s color palette generator creates a color scheme that meets all accessibility guidelines.

Offline States

Occasionally, your customers may find themselves without internet service. Offline states allow users to interact with your website without the internet. Offline access can be beneficial for your customers. If your website has some features that are available offline but others that aren’t, make sure you indicate that. If possible, allow users to download content to be used when they are offline.

By following Google’s Material design guidelines, our team of web desiners create a memorable experience for your customers. Adding signifiers, animated icons, and images will appeal to users. They will also appreciate being able to access your site when they are offline.