NOW IN ANDROID
In collaboration with the Android Developer Relations team, Instrument designed Now in Android — an open-source and multi-device sample application that inspires and guides developers in their learning, offering solutions to the problems they face as they inspect the code under the hood.
In collaboration with the Android Developer Relations team, Instrument designed Now in Android — an open-source and multi-device sample application that inspires and guides developers in their learning, offering solutions to the problems they face as they inspect the code under the hood.
DEVELOPING THE BRAND
In tandem with the UX work, we imagined a new visual identity for the Now in Android content series and the app. With Android’s existing visual identity as our starting point, we crafted a bespoke brand rooted in the app’s value and purpose (keeping developers skills sharp).
The fun and enthusiastic look and feel evokes excitement to progress as an Android developer with visual nods to movement, loading, and safeguarding.
We arrived at this identity due to its flexibility, opinionated expression, and level of complexity.
In tandem with the UX work, we imagined a new visual identity for the Now in Android content series and the app. With Android’s existing visual identity as our starting point, we crafted a bespoke brand rooted in the app’s value and purpose (keeping developers skills sharp).
The fun and enthusiastic look and feel evokes excitement to progress as an Android developer with visual nods to movement, loading, and safeguarding.
We arrived at this identity due to its flexibility, opinionated expression, and level of complexity.
TESTING DYNAMIC COLORS
Before we began creating the app, Material Design rolled out it’s dynamic approach to color — Material You. One way the logic of Material You is seen in the world is through users adoption of unique color palettes on their Android device determined by their wallpaper.
What did this mean for us? Well, we needed to demonstrate development best practices, which included showcasing all Material You, the newest brand and development consideration, was capable of.
A personalized approach to color challenged the traditional relationship we see between brands and users. How could we build brand equity without the, dare I say — easy — help of color?
To ensure the brand and the UI both made the most of dynamic color, we regularly vetted the design with custom, user-generated themes with the help of the Figma plugin: Material Theme Builder.
We shifted our mindset from “are these colors working” to “are these design tokens working” as we discovered brand recognition extending beyond color.
In addition to user-generated themes, we developed a bespoke, Default theme for the app as well as an Android one, both built on the underlying Material You logic.
Before we began creating the app, Material Design rolled out it’s dynamic approach to color — Material You. One way the logic of Material You is seen in the world is through users adoption of unique color palettes on their Android device determined by their wallpaper.
What did this mean for us? Well, we needed to demonstrate development best practices, which included showcasing all Material You, the newest brand and development consideration, was capable of.
A personalized approach to color challenged the traditional relationship we see between brands and users. How could we build brand equity without the, dare I say — easy — help of color?
To ensure the brand and the UI both made the most of dynamic color, we regularly vetted the design with custom, user-generated themes with the help of the Figma plugin: Material Theme Builder.
We shifted our mindset from “are these colors working” to “are these design tokens working” as we discovered brand recognition extending beyond color.
In addition to user-generated themes, we developed a bespoke, Default theme for the app as well as an Android one, both built on the underlying Material You logic.
EXTENDING THE BRAND
Among the dozens of brand deliverables we handed off to the Android Developer Relations team were (A) an episode cover system made of interchangeable components and variables in Figma and (B) a simple suite of topic iconography.
Both are great examples of how we strived to (1) make the creation of new content easy for future production designers but more importantly how to (2) express a brand through form and layout rather than color.
Among the dozens of brand deliverables we handed off to the Android Developer Relations team were (A) an episode cover system made of interchangeable components and variables in Figma and (B) a simple suite of topic iconography.
Both are great examples of how we strived to (1) make the creation of new content easy for future production designers but more importantly how to (2) express a brand through form and layout rather than color.
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
We delivered a robust, 110-page brand guidelines deck packed with layout, motion, color, and app icon specifications (to name a few), Play Store images, over 15 animations and an appendix filled with future asset recommendations like YouTube thumbnail templates and hero imagery.
This thorough deck provides Android Developer Relations with all they could need as the app and content series grows.
We delivered a robust, 110-page brand guidelines deck packed with layout, motion, color, and app icon specifications (to name a few), Play Store images, over 15 animations and an appendix filled with future asset recommendations like YouTube thumbnail templates and hero imagery.
This thorough deck provides Android Developer Relations with all they could need as the app and content series grows.
TEAM
Design
︎︎︎ Dan Schechter (CD)
︎︎︎ Caleb Misclevitz (UI/UX)
︎︎︎ Jonathan Splitlog (UI/UX)
︎︎︎ Makayla Lovrak (Brand)
︎︎︎ Greg Bowe (Motion)
︎︎︎ Marc Lehman (Motion)
Writing
︎︎︎ Evan P. Schneider
Strategy
︎︎︎ Nik Top
︎︎︎ Dan Bayn
︎︎︎ Renee Ferron
Production
︎︎︎ Jesi Wu
︎︎︎ Jonathan Creech
︎︎︎ Christina Heiman
︎︎︎ Rhienna Guedry
︎︎︎ Dan Schechter (CD)
︎︎︎ Caleb Misclevitz (UI/UX)
︎︎︎ Jonathan Splitlog (UI/UX)
︎︎︎ Makayla Lovrak (Brand)
︎︎︎ Greg Bowe (Motion)
︎︎︎ Marc Lehman (Motion)
Writing
︎︎︎ Evan P. Schneider
Strategy
︎︎︎ Nik Top
︎︎︎ Dan Bayn
︎︎︎ Renee Ferron
Production
︎︎︎ Jesi Wu
︎︎︎ Jonathan Creech
︎︎︎ Christina Heiman
︎︎︎ Rhienna Guedry