Material Thinking

Material Thinking

Apply Material Design 3 and M3 Expressive principles to create accessible, consistent, and engaging user interfaces.

Overview

This skill provides comprehensive guidance for implementing Material Design 3 (M3) and M3 Expressive across all platforms. Material Design 3 is Google's open-source design system that provides UX guidance, reusable components, and design tools for creating beautiful, accessible interfaces.

Key capabilities:

• Design new products with M3 principles
• Review existing designs for M3 compliance
• Generate design tokens (colors, typography, shapes)
• Apply M3 Expressive for engaging, emotionally resonant UIs
• Select appropriate components for specific use cases
• Ensure accessibility and responsive design

Core Resources

This skill includes four comprehensive reference documents. Read these as needed during your work:

1. Foundations (references/foundations.md)

Read when working with:

• Accessibility requirements
• Layout and responsive design (window size classes, canonical layouts)
• Interaction patterns (states, gestures, selection)
• Content design and UX writing
• Design tokens and adaptive design

2. Styles (references/styles.md)

Read when working with:

• Color systems (dynamic color, color roles, tonal palettes)
• Typography (type scale, fonts)
• Elevation and depth
• Shapes and corner radius
• Icons (Material Symbols)
• Motion and transitions

3. Components (references/components.md)

Read when selecting or implementing:

• Action components (buttons, FAB, segmented buttons)
• Selection and input (checkbox, radio, switch, text fields, chips)
• Navigation (nav bar, drawer, rail, app bars, tabs)
• Containment and layout (cards, lists, carousel, sheets)
• Communication (dialogs, snackbar, badges, progress, tooltips, menus)

4. M3 Expressive (references/m3-expressive.md)

Read when creating more engaging experiences:

• Expressive motion tactics
• Shape morphing
• Dynamic animations
• Brand expression
• Balancing expressiveness with usability

Workflows

Workflow 1: Designing a New Interface

When designing a new product or feature with Material 3:

1. Define layout structure

   • Read references/foundations.md → Layout section
   • Determine window size classes (compact/medium/expanded)
   • Choose canonical layout if applicable (list-detail, feed, supporting pane)

2. Select components

   • Read references/components.md
   • Use Component Selection Guide to choose appropriate components
   • Review specific component guidelines for usage and specs

3. Establish visual style

   • Read references/styles.md
   • Define color scheme (dynamic or static)
   • Set typography scale
   • Choose shape scale (corner radius values)
   • Plan motion and transitions

4. Apply M3 Expressive (optional)

   • Read references/m3-expressive.md
   • Identify key moments for expressive design
   • Apply emphasized easing and extended durations
   • Consider shape morphing for transitions
   • Follow 80/20 rule (80% standard, 20% expressive)

5. Validate accessibility

   • Read references/foundations.md → Accessibility section
   • Check color contrast (WCAG compliance)
   • Verify touch targets (minimum 48×48dp)
   • Ensure keyboard navigation and screen reader support

Workflow 2: Reviewing Existing Designs

When reviewing designs for Material 3 compliance:

1. Component compliance

   • Read references/components.md for relevant components
   • Check if components follow M3 specifications
   • Verify proper component usage (e.g., not using filled buttons excessively)
   • Validate component states (enabled, hover, focus, pressed, disabled)

2. Visual consistency

   • Read references/styles.md
   • Verify color roles are used correctly
   • Check typography matches type scale
   • Validate elevation levels
   • Review shape consistency (corner radius)

3. Accessibility audit

   • Read references/foundations.md → Accessibility section
   • Test color contrast ratios
   • Check touch target sizes
   • Verify text resizing support
   • Review focus indicators

4. Interaction patterns

   • Read references/foundations.md → Interaction section
   • Verify state layers are present
   • Check gesture support for mobile
   • Validate selection patterns

Workflow 3: Generating Design Tokens

When creating design tokens for a new theme:

1. Color tokens

   • Read references/styles.md → Color section
   • Choose color scheme type (dynamic or static)
   • Define source color(s)
   • Generate tonal palette (13 tones per key color)
   • Map color roles (primary, secondary, tertiary, surface, error)
   • Create light and dark theme variants

2. Typography tokens

   • Read references/styles.md → Typography section
   • Select font family
   • Define type scale (display, headline, title, body, label × small/medium/large)
   • Set letter spacing and line height

3. Shape tokens

   • Read references/styles.md → Shape section
   • Define corner radius scale (none, extra-small, small, medium, large, extra-large)
   • Map shapes to component categories

4. Motion tokens

   • Read references/styles.md → Motion section
   • Define duration values (short, medium, long)
   • Set easing curves (emphasized, standard)
   • For M3 Expressive, read references/m3-expressive.md → Expressive Motion

Workflow 4: Implementing M3 Expressive

When adding expressive elements to enhance engagement:

1. Identify key moments

   • Onboarding flows
   • Primary user actions (FAB, main CTAs)
   • Screen transitions
   • Success/completion states

2. Apply expressive tactics

   • Read references/m3-expressive.md → Design Tactics
   • Use emphasized easing for important transitions
   • Extend animation durations (400-700ms)
   • Add exaggerated scale changes
   • Implement layered/staggered animations
   • Consider shape morphing

3. Balance with usability

   • Follow 80/20 rule (most interactions remain standard)
   • Respect prefers-reduced-motion
   • Avoid excessive motion in productivity contexts
   • Test on lower-end devices

Quick Reference

When to Read Each Reference

Component Quick Selector

Actions:

• Primary screen action → FAB or Filled Button
• Secondary action → Tonal/Outlined Button
• Tertiary action → Text Button
• Compact action → Icon Button
• Toggle options (2-5) → Segmented Button

Input:

• Single choice → Radio Button
• Multiple choices → Checkbox
• On/Off toggle → Switch
• Text input → Text Field
• Date/time → Date/Time Picker
• Range value → Slider
• Tags → Input Chips

Navigation:

• Compact screens (<600dp) → Navigation Bar
• Medium screens (600-840dp) → Navigation Rail
• Large screens (>840dp) → Navigation Drawer
• Secondary nav → Tabs or Top App Bar

Communication:

• Important decision → Dialog
• Quick feedback → Snackbar
• Notification count → Badge
• Loading status → Progress Indicator
• Contextual help → Tooltip
• Action list → Menu

Design Token Defaults

Color (Light Theme):

• Primary: tone 40
• On-primary: tone 100 (white)
• Primary container: tone 90
• Surface: tone 98

Typography:

• Display Large: 57sp
• Headline Large: 32sp
• Title Large: 22sp
• Body Large: 16sp
• Label Large: 14sp

Shape:

• Extra Small: 4dp (chips, checkboxes)
• Small: 8dp (small buttons)
• Medium: 12dp (cards, standard buttons)
• Large: 16dp (FAB)
• Extra Large: 28dp (dialogs, sheets)

Elevation:

• Level 0: 0dp (standard surface)
• Level 1: 1dp (cards)
• Level 2: 3dp (search bars)
• Level 3: 6dp (FAB)
• Level 5: 12dp (modals, dialogs)

Best Practices

General Principles

1. Consistency: Use design tokens consistently across the product
2. Hierarchy: Establish clear visual hierarchy through size, color, and spacing
3. Accessibility: Always meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards (minimum)
4. Responsiveness: Design for all window size classes
5. Platform conventions: Respect platform-specific patterns when appropriate

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Too many filled buttons: Use only one filled button per screen for primary action
• Ignoring window size classes: Design must adapt to different screen sizes
• Poor color contrast: Always validate contrast ratios
• Inconsistent spacing: Use 4dp grid system throughout
• Overusing M3 Expressive: Keep 80% standard, 20% expressive
• Small touch targets: Minimum 48×48dp for all interactive elements
• Unclear component states: All components must show hover, focus, pressed states

Platform-Specific Notes

Flutter:

• Use Material 3 theme in ThemeData(useMaterial3: true)
• Access design tokens via Theme.of(context)
• Official documentation: https://m3.material.io/develop/flutter

Android (Jetpack Compose):

• Use Material3 package
• MaterialTheme provides M3 components and tokens
• Official documentation: https://m3.material.io/develop/android/jetpack-compose

Web:

• Use Material Web Components library
• CSS custom properties for design tokens
• Official documentation: https://m3.material.io/develop/web

Platform-agnostic:

• Export design tokens from Material Theme Builder
• Apply M3 principles manually to any framework

Tools and Resources

Material Theme Builder

Web-based tool for creating M3 color schemes and design tokens:

• Generate color schemes from source colors
• Create light and dark themes
• Export tokens for various platforms
• URL: https://material-foundation.github.io/material-theme-builder/

Material Symbols

Variable icon font with 2,500+ icons:

• Styles: Outlined, Filled, Rounded, Sharp
• Variable features: weight, grade, optical size, fill
• URL: https://fonts.google.com/icons

Official Documentation

• Material Design 3: https://m3.material.io/
• Get Started: https://m3.material.io/get-started
• Blog (updates and announcements): https://m3.material.io/blog

Summary

This skill enables comprehensive Material Design 3 implementation:

1. Read references as needed: Don't try to memorize everything—reference files exist to be consulted during work
2. Follow workflows: Use structured workflows for common tasks (designing, reviewing, generating tokens)
3. Start with foundations: Layout, accessibility, and interaction patterns form the base
4. Build with components: Use the 38 documented M3 components appropriately
5. Apply styles consistently: Color, typography, shape, elevation, icons, motion
6. Enhance with M3 Expressive: Add engaging, emotionally resonant elements where appropriate
7. Validate accessibility: Always check contrast, touch targets, and keyboard navigation

Material Design 3 is a complete design system—this skill helps you apply it effectively across all contexts.

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