Creating a personalized and visually appealing user interface is essential for modern applications. With Material 3 Expressive, developers and designers now have powerful tools to craft custom themes that align with brand identity while offering users a dynamic and emotionally engaging experience . Whether you’re working on Android apps, web platforms like Angular, or design tools such as Figma, Material 3 provides flexible theming options to bring your vision to life.
What Is Material 3 Expressive?
Material 3 Expressive is part of Google’s latest evolution in Material Design, introduced to enhance personalization and emotional connection through color, motion, and visual storytelling . It allows developers and designers to create expressive interfaces that reflect brand personality while adhering to accessibility standards. A key feature of this update is the Material Theme Builder, which enables real-time customization of color palettes, typography, and shape systems .
Getting Started with Material Theme Builder
The first step in creating a personalized theme is using the Material Theme Builder tool. This visual application helps generate dynamic color schemes based on your brand guidelines or preferences . You can import your logo or select primary and secondary colors, and the tool will automatically generate a harmonious palette with contrast ratios that meet accessibility standards.
Once your theme is defined, you can export it to various platforms including Android, Flutter, and web frameworks like Angular Material , ensuring consistency across devices and applications.
Customizing Themes in Figma
For UI/UX designers, integrating Material 3 into Figma streamlines the design process. The Material 3 Design Kit available in Figma includes pre-built components and themeable styles that adapt to your selected color scheme . By applying the generated theme from Material Theme Builder into Figma, teams can visualize how the design will look across different screen sizes and states (e.g., light and dark mode).
This approach not only enhances collaboration between designers and developers but also ensures that the final product maintains a cohesive aesthetic aligned with both brand identity and platform standards .
Implementing Custom Themes in Angular Material 3
Developers working with Angular can take advantage of Angular Material 3 to apply custom themes programmatically. By defining SCSS variables for color palettes and importing them into your project, you can seamlessly integrate the design system into your codebase . This method allows for granular control over component styling while leveraging Material 3’s built-in responsiveness and accessibility features.
Here’s a basic example of how to define a custom theme:
@use '@angular/material' as mat;
@include mat.core();
$my-primary: mat.define-palette(mat.$indigo-palette, 500);
$my-accent: mat.define-palette(mat.$pink-palette, A200, A100, A400);
$my-theme: mat.define-light-theme((
color: (
primary: $my-primary,
accent: $my-accent,
),
));
@include mat.all-component-themes($my-theme);By compiling this SCSS file, your Angular app will adopt the new theme across all supported components.
Ensuring Accessibility and Personalization
A major focus of Material 3 theming is accessibility without sacrificing visual appeal. Tools like the Material Theme Builder ensure that color contrasts meet WCAG standards by default . Additionally, the expressive nature of Material 3 allows for more intuitive interactions and smoother animations, especially noticeable in Android and Wear OS 6 updates .
Personalization doesn’t stop at color choices—it extends to typography, spacing, and even micro-interactions. These subtle elements contribute to a unique brand presence and improve user engagement.
Conclusion
With Material 3 Expressive, creating personalized themes has never been easier or more powerful. From the visual customization offered by the Material Theme Builder to the programmatic flexibility in Angular and seamless integration in Figma, developers and designers have everything they need to build beautiful, accessible, and brand-aligned experiences. As Android and Wear OS continue to evolve with these expressive tools , embracing Material 3 is not just an option—it’s a necessity for staying competitive in today’s digital landscape.
