Design Notes: Bringing Material Design to Life
The 2019 Material Design Award winners on expression, innovation, and universal design
In this four-part series, Liam sits down with the winners of the 2019 Material Design Awards—Reflectly, Ruff, Trip.com, and Scripts—to learn more about how they each adopted Material to build expressive, inspirational experiences.
Reflectly
Journaling app Reflectly won this year’s award for innovation by bringing Material Design to life with fluid animations, a novel elevation model, and custom componentry. In the interview, cofounder Jacob Kristensen digs into the foundations of Reflectly and how its experience—from philosophy to specific interactions—came to life.
Ruff
Note-taking app Ruff won this year’s award for theming by building an expressive identity through the consistent application of color, typography, and shape. Liam and developer/designer Bardi Golriz talk about what it’s like to add new features without losing focus, and how Material Theming impacts the process of developing an app.
Trip.com
Trip.com is a travel app that won this year’s award for universality by accounting for users around the world with over a dozen supported languages and custom imagery. The interview unpacks what it’s like to build an app for the entire world.
Scripts
Scripts won this year’s award for experience with creative interactions, navigation, and content presentation. Liam speaks with the Scripts team about using a color system to create a unique experience while expressing identity, and building interactions that give users an immediate sense of accomplishment.