It’s almost a year now since Google first introduced their Material Design visual guidelines which they encouraged Android app developers to apply to their respective programs. At first it was just a hypothetical idea then it turned into a whole new ballgame for developers and for Google itself. Today at the I/O conference, they announced 18 great apps that showcased the best of their new visual ethos, and gave special awards to 6 of them, this year’s equivalent of their Beautiful Design collection of the previous years.
The 6 apps that got specific recognitions are the following: B&H Photo Video Audrio Pro was recognized for their “immersive imagery”; the digital platform of The New York Times was praised for their “elegant typography”; “save links for reading later” app Pocket received props for its “adaptive layouts”; podcast player Pocket Casts got recognition for its “seamless browsing”; micro-blogging app and bottomless pit Tumblr got Google’s admiration for its “delightful animation”; and last but not the least, Weather Timeline received plaudits for its “crafted simplicity”.
Other apps that are included in the Material Design showcase are BuzzFeed, Evernote, GroupMe, Indiegogo, Lyft, Runtastic Runner, SeriesGuide, Telegram, The Hunt, and wiMAn. What all these apps have in common is that they were able to adapt Material Design and yet retain the character and functionality of their respective products. Google is pretty happy that they were able to “realize that aspirational vision” that they presented just a year ago.
If you don’t have any or all of these apps yet and would like to see what all the fuss is about, you can download them easily from one landing page. Visit Google’s special “best-in-class” Android Design showcase on the Google Play Store.
SOURCE: Android Developers Blog
