Global – The technology giant is enabling people to customise their digital interfaces through a design language called Material You. Available on all devices that run on the Android 12 operating system, the update allows users to tailor the visual appearance on their phone and tablet screens. Focusing on accessibility, users can control the contrast, size and line width of icons; they can also add personal images and choose their own colour palette.
Through this approach, Google recognises the importance of personalisation in technology – both for general user engagement and for accessibility needs. ‘Material You explores a more humanistic approach to design,’ explains the company in a blog post. ‘One that celebrates the tension between design sensibility and personal preference, and does not shy away from emotion.’
Elsewhere, social media platform Facebook has also experimented with more personal approaches to digital interfaces. Its E.gg platform avoids cookie cutter templates to enable space for self-expression. As creative director Matthew Jones posits, designers must embrace such risky tactics to avoid homogenising design.
Strategic opportunity
Both hardware and software brands must design with adaptability in mind. To reach a wider range of consumers, actively spotlight the ways that your products can be altered to suit different needs and interests