Google I/O 2014 and Deploying a Unified Design
During its 2014 I/O conference, Google announced the future of their unified design efforts: Material Design. A flat, colourful design theory that’s built on ideas of tactile reality and inspired by paper and ink. It creates interaction grounded in realistic spaces and movements, redefining how objects could behave in a digital space. The end goal is an immediately familiar functionality that’s meaningful and consistent across devices, which “reflect a different view of the same underlying system”. For more information on Material Design, check out Google’s official page.
But why does any of this matter? Why is Google, or anyone for that matter, pouring time and creative energy into a theme is stylistically consistent across not only hardware, but software as well?
The idea is that experiences, mirrored across devices and web products, are the foundation of familiarity. This sensation not only encourages return users, but also establishes a visual representation of your company and web presence. A valuable asset for anyone in the digital space.
The challenge then, is figuring out how you want to present yourself online. Is your brand immersive, meaningful, and most importantly, creating an experience? Seek out inspirational sources, consider what need your efforts are satisfying, and speak to that. If your service is simplifying an industry pain point, or providing comprehensive information in a relaxed atmosphere, those goals will fuel your visuals thematically.
Use this inspiration to develop a single underlying appearance that you can build your websites, social media and marketing strategy with. Once it’s deployed, readers and customers will quickly come to know your company by both its products and its design philosophy. The web is built on visual queues, and the sooner your target market is familiar with the experience that your brand’s design invokes, the sooner they will invest in it.
What are your thoughts on unified design concepts, or Google's new Material Design? Leave your comments below, fire us your thoughts on Twitter or Facebook, and as always, hit the subscribe button to have useful Headspace content sent straight to your inbox!
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