So what is Material Design? Don't ask me! I spent an hour reading about it on Google's documentation pages and I still don't get it. I mean does this mean anything to anyone?
...The use of familiar tactile attributes helps users quickly understand affordances. Yet the flexibility of the material creates new affordances that supercede those in the physical world, without breaking the rules of physics...
Well not to me.
So I have some issues with Material Design.
Firstly as highlighted above, it seems like Material Design is the invention of a new language. I think this language is designed to monopolise the vocabulary around and as a result the approach to graphic design - Soon everything will look like it was made by Google.
Secondly, Google is trying to make us conform to a narrow design envelope. Where's the freedom and space for creativity? If all app designers use the fixed colour palettes and strict rules provided by Material Design, things will become quite predictable and boring.
Thirdly, who's judgement of good design are we trusting? There are a whole selection of Do's and Don'ts. Some of the Don't actually look OK to me.
And another (I quite like the off-center folds):
Finally, There's #contradiction. Material Design says in a number of web pages:
A folder corner, or dog-ear, is used with forms associated with documents or traditional paper-based metaphors...Don’t use a dog-ear treatment in the upper-left of an icon. The cast shadow from this position interrupts the harmony of the icon.
... Google's Newsstand is probably the most heavily used app on my phone. Take a look at it's icon:
So that's clear. #WellDoneGoogle.
All this said, I don't claim to have good a good eye for graphic design, and I do like the look of Material Design icons. I expect I'll be a full convert within a month.
I'll post tomorrow about the useful Material Design related resources I located online.
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