Material 3 Expressive

Material 3 Expressive is the most researched update to Google’s design system, ever. Here, Material researchers share the data behind the designs and new insights into users’ preference for emotion-driven UX. Material 3 Expressive was born out of research — not in the 41 shades of blue kind of way, which delegated design decisions to data, but in a collaborative inquiry spanning research, design, and engineering. Back in 2022, our research intern was studying user sentiment toward Material Design in Google apps. After mentioning her initial findings to colleagues in a Munich beer hall, she sparked a team-wide design debate: Why did all these apps look so similar? So boring? Wasn’t there room to dial up the feeling? Over the past three years, we’ve explored the implications of this conversation, iterating through dozens of rounds of design and research to find the next evolution of Material Design. Through 46 separate research studies with hundreds of designs, and more than 18,000 par ... Read full article.