What is Material Design?

Material Design is a design language developed by Google in 2014. It uses more grid-based layouts, responsive animations and transitions, padding, and depth effects such as lighting and shadows. Material Design is inspired by the physical world and its textures, including how they reflect light and cast shadows. The material metaphor is the unifying theory of a rationalized space and a system of motion.

The goal of Material Design is to create a new visual language that combines the classic principles of good design with the innovation and possibility of technology and science. It aims to develop a single underlying system that allows for a unified experience across platforms and device sizes. Mobile, web, and beyond, Material Design provides a consistent and beautiful user experience.

The Role of Color in Material Design

Color is a critical component of Material Design. The color system helps you apply color to your UI in a meaningful way. In Material Design, a primary and a secondary color are typically chosen to represent your brand. Dark and light variants of each color can then be applied to your UI in different ways.

The Material Design color palette comprises primary and accent colors that can be used for illustration or to develop your brand colors. They've been designed to work harmoniously with each other. The color palette starts with primary colors and fills in the spectrum to create a complete and usable palette for Android, Web, and iOS.

"Color in Material Design is inspired by bold hues juxtaposed with muted environments, deep shadows, and bright highlights." - Material Design Guidelines

How to Use the Material Design Color Tool

Our tool simplifies the process of creating a Material Design-compliant color palette. Here's a step-by-step guide:

1. Select a Primary Color: Use the color picker under "Primary Color" to choose your main brand color. This color will be used for major UI elements like app bars and buttons.
2. Select a Secondary Color: Use the color picker under "Secondary Color" to choose an accent color. This is used for floating action buttons, sliders, and other interactive elements.
3. Review the Palettes: The tool automatically generates a full palette (from shade 50 to 900) for both your primary and secondary colors. These shades are crucial for creating depth and hierarchy in your UI.
4. Preview Your UI: The live preview on the right shows how your chosen colors will look on a sample application layout. This helps you visualize your theme in a real-world context.
5. Export Your Colors: You can copy the hex codes for any color in the generated palettes to use directly in your projects.

Choosing Primary and Secondary Colors

The choice of primary and secondary colors is crucial for branding and user experience. Your primary color should be the most frequently displayed color in your app's screens and components. Your secondary (or accent) color provides more ways to accent and distinguish your product. Having a secondary color is optional, and can be used to distinguish elements like floating action buttons, selection controls, and links.

When selecting colors, consider your brand's identity. Is it playful, serious, modern, or traditional? The colors you choose should reflect this identity. Also, ensure your color choices provide enough contrast for readability, which is essential for accessibility.

Accessibility and Color

Accessibility is not just a feature; it's a necessity. In UI design, color accessibility means ensuring that content is readable for everyone, including people with visual impairments. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) provide standards for contrast ratios.

Our tool helps you visualize your color choices, but you should always test them for accessibility. For example, text on a colored background must have a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 (or 3:1 for large text). You can use our Contrast Checker tool to verify your color combinations.

Implementation Tutorial

Once you have your color palette, you can implement it in your project. Here are examples for CSS and Tailwind CSS.

Using CSS Variables

CSS custom properties (variables) are a great way to manage your color palette. Define your colors in the `:root` selector, and then use them throughout your stylesheet.

:root {
  --primary-50: #fde2f3;
  --primary-100: #fcc7e7;
  /* ...and so on for all primary shades... */
  --primary-500: #e91e63;
  --primary-900: #880e4f;

  --secondary-50: #e0f7fa;
  /* ...all secondary shades... */
  --secondary-500: #00bcd4;
}

body {
  background-color: var(--primary-50);
  color: var(--primary-900);
}

.button-primary {
  background-color: var(--primary-500);
  color: white;
}

Using Tailwind CSS

You can extend Tailwind's default color palette in your `tailwind.config.js` file.

const { fontFamily } = require('tailwindcss/defaultTheme')

module.exports = {
  theme: {
    extend: {
      colors: {
        primary: {
          '50': '#fde2f3',
          '100': '#fcc7e7',
          // ...
          '500': '#e91e63',
          '900': '#880e4f',
        },
        secondary: {
          '50': '#e0f7fa',
          // ...
          '500': '#00bcd4',
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Then you can use these colors with Tailwind's utility classes, like `bg-primary-500` or `text-secondary-700`.

Related Tools

Enhance your design workflow with our other color and design tools:

• Color Picker: For picking exact colors in HEX, RGB, or HSL formats.
• Contrast Checker: Ensure your color combinations are WCAG compliant.
• Color Palette Generator: Create harmonious color palettes (analogous, complementary, etc.).
• Gradient Generator: Create beautiful linear, radial, and conic gradients.