What Can You Learn from Analyzing Material Design’s 18 Core Components?

If you want to learn visual design, you should understand how Material Design handles individual elements or components. This document lists 18 design elements, from buttons to menus to tabs, and analyzing them reveals valuable lessons.

Embrace Change

Buttons alone have many rules. Material Design defines three button types: floating, raised, and flat. A single button cannot satisfy all interface needs.

These variations maximize design flexibility, offering alternatives for situations where standard designs fall short.

Choosing the primary button type depends on its importance, the number of containers on screen, and the overall layout.

The guide provides detailed guidance on when to use or avoid each button, helping designers make informed decisions.

Pay Attention to Often‑Overlooked Elements

Do you regularly consider dialogs or alerts when designing interfaces? Material Design dedicates a chapter to dialogs, which are often ignored but remain essential when needed.

The dialog guidelines are thorough, outlining which buttons to use and why, and they dissect dialog usage in depth.

When button labels fit within the maximum width, side‑by‑side buttons are recommended.

When labels exceed the width, stacked buttons can accommodate the text.

The guide details dialog content types and interactions, highlighting the importance of even the smallest elements in a robust design system.

Everything Relates to Visibility

The document emphasizes visibility, aiming for cross‑browser/device consistency. A high‑quality style guide reflects visibility in its language.

Tabs provide visible grouping of related content, with concise labels describing each group.

Material Design treats tabs not merely as navigation but as an additional way to browse content, ensuring functional clarity.

Clear definitions prevent misuse and confusion, maintaining fairness and user understanding.

Tabs simplify app navigation, view switching, and data categorization.

Create Your Own Elements

“Snackbars appear at the bottom of mobile screens or lower‑left of desktops, offering lightweight feedback above all other elements, including floating action buttons.”

“Toasts resemble snackbars but lack actions and cannot be swiped off‑screen.”

Material Design introduces “snackbars and toasts” as rarely heard components, essentially simple pop‑up notifications.

The guide categorizes various pop‑ups, assigning distinct functions to snackbars, toasts, and dialogs, each with specific usage examples, sizing, and color guidelines.

Remember not to misuse these elements across unrelated contexts; defining clear roles for pop‑ups can have a surprisingly large impact on overall design.