Android Academy · Lesson

Material Design Basics

Use Material Components: MaterialButton, TextInputLayout, MaterialCardView, FloatingActionButton, Snackbar, Chip, BottomSheetDialog, and Dynamic Color.

Material Design Basics is a free Android Academy lesson on CoddyKit — lesson 1 of 5. You can read the complete lesson below for free — then practise it hands-on in the browser with a built-in code editor and a 24/7 AI tutor. It is part of the Android Academy learning path, one of 5 lessons in the course, and your progress syncs across the web and the CoddyKit app.

What Is Material Design?

Material Design is Google's design system for building beautiful, consistent Android apps. It provides:

A rich set of pre-built UI components
Consistent spacing, typography, and color rules
Accessible and responsive components
Built-in animations and transitions

The Material Components for Android library (MDC) brings Material 3 to Jetpack.

Adding Material Components

Add the dependency and set your app theme to a Material theme:

// app/build.gradle:
dependencies {
    implementation 'com.google.android.material:material:1.12.0'
}

// res/values/themes.xml:
<style name="Theme.MyApp" parent="Theme.Material3.DayNight.NoActionBar">
    <item name="colorPrimary">@color/primary</item>
    <item name="colorSecondary">@color/secondary</item>
    <!-- ... -->
</style>

MaterialButton

Replace the plain Button with MaterialButton for rounded corners, ripple effects, and icon support:

<!-- Filled (default) -->
<com.google.android.material.button.MaterialButton
    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:text="Save"
    app:icon="@drawable/ic_save" />

<!-- Outlined style -->
<com.google.android.material.button.MaterialButton
    style="@style/Widget.Material3.Button.OutlinedButton"
    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:text="Cancel" />

<!-- Text button -->
<com.google.android.material.button.MaterialButton
    style="@style/Widget.Material3.Button.TextButton"
    android:text="Learn more" />

TextInputLayout & TextInputEditText

TextInputLayout wraps an EditText to provide floating labels, error messages, and character counters:

<com.google.android.material.textfield.TextInputLayout
    android:id="@+id/tilEmail"
    style="@style/Widget.Material3.TextInputLayout.OutlinedBox"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:hint="Email address"
    app:helperText="We will never share your email">

    <com.google.android.material.textfield.TextInputEditText
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:inputType="textEmailAddress" />

</com.google.android.material.textfield.TextInputLayout>

MaterialCardView

MaterialCardView adds elevation, rounded corners, and stroke to a container:

<com.google.android.material.card.MaterialCardView
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:layout_margin="8dp"
    app:cardCornerRadius="12dp"
    app:cardElevation="4dp"
    app:strokeColor="@color/outline"
    app:strokeWidth="1dp">

    <LinearLayout
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:padding="16dp"
        android:orientation="vertical">

        <TextView android:text="Card Title" />
        <TextView android:text="Card content goes here" />

    </LinearLayout>
</com.google.android.material.card.MaterialCardView>

FloatingActionButton (FAB)

FABs highlight the primary action on a screen. Material 3 offers three sizes:

<!-- Standard FAB -->
<com.google.android.material.floatingactionbutton.FloatingActionButton
    android:id="@+id/fab"
    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:layout_gravity="bottom|end"
    android:layout_margin="16dp"
    android:contentDescription="Add item"
    app:srcCompat="@drawable/ic_add" />

<!-- Extended FAB (icon + text) -->
<com.google.android.material.floatingactionbutton.ExtendedFloatingActionButton
    android:text="New Note"
    app:icon="@drawable/ic_edit"
    android:layout_gravity="bottom|end" />

MaterialToolbar

Replace the default ActionBar with MaterialToolbar for Material 3 styling:

<!-- In layout XML -->
<com.google.android.material.appbar.MaterialToolbar
    android:id="@+id/toolbar"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="?attr/actionBarSize"
    android:background="?attr/colorSurface"
    app:title="My App"
    app:navigationIcon="@drawable/ic_menu" />

// In Activity:
setSupportActionBar(binding.toolbar)
binding.toolbar.setNavigationOnClickListener {
    onBackPressedDispatcher.onBackPressed()
}

Snackbar

Snackbar shows brief, actionable messages at the bottom of the screen. Prefer it over Toast:

// Simple message:
Snackbar.make(binding.root, "Item deleted", Snackbar.LENGTH_SHORT).show()

// With action:
Snackbar.make(binding.root, "Item deleted", Snackbar.LENGTH_LONG)
    .setAction("Undo") {
        viewModel.undoDelete()
    }
    .setAnchorView(binding.fab)   // appears above the FAB
    .show()

Chip & ChipGroup

Chips are compact elements for filters, tags, and selections:

<com.google.android.material.chip.ChipGroup
    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    app:singleSelection="true">

    <com.google.android.material.chip.Chip
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:text="Kotlin"
        style="@style/Widget.Material3.Chip.Filter" />

    <com.google.android.material.chip.Chip
        android:text="Android"
        style="@style/Widget.Material3.Chip.Filter" />

    <com.google.android.material.chip.Chip
        android:text="Jetpack"
        style="@style/Widget.Material3.Chip.Filter" />

</com.google.android.material.chip.ChipGroup>

BottomSheetDialog

A Modal Bottom Sheet slides up from the bottom and contains content or actions:

class OptionsBottomSheet : BottomSheetDialogFragment() {

    override fun onCreateView(
        inflater: LayoutInflater, container: ViewGroup?, savedInstanceState: Bundle?
    ): View {
        return inflater.inflate(R.layout.bottom_sheet_options, container, false)
    }
}

// Show it from a Fragment:
val sheet = OptionsBottomSheet()
sheet.show(parentFragmentManager, "options")

Material You — Dynamic Color

Android 12+ supports Dynamic Color — the app's color scheme adapts to the user's wallpaper automatically:

// In Application.onCreate():
override fun onCreate() {
    super.onCreate()
    DynamicColors.applyToActivitiesIfAvailable(this)
}

// That's it! Colors automatically extract from wallpaper on Android 12+
// On older Android, fallback colors from your theme are used.

Quick Check

Which Material component should you use to wrap an EditText to get floating labels and inline error messages?

Recap: Material Design Basics

Material Components make beautiful apps easy:

MaterialButton — filled, outlined, text styles
TextInputLayout + TextInputEditText — floating labels, errors
MaterialCardView — cards with elevation and stroke
FloatingActionButton — primary action button
Snackbar — dismissible messages with actions
Chip — tags, filters, selections
Dynamic Color — adapts to wallpaper on Android 12+

Next: themes, styles, and dark mode.

Frequently asked questions

Is the “Material Design Basics” lesson free?

Yes — the full text of “Material Design Basics” is free to read here on the web, and the Android Academy course includes 5 lessons in total. To practise it interactively (a built-in code editor and a 24/7 AI tutor) and unlock the rest of the Android Academy course, upgrade to CoddyKit PRO.

What will I learn in “Material Design Basics”?

Use Material Components: MaterialButton, TextInputLayout, MaterialCardView, FloatingActionButton, Snackbar, Chip, BottomSheetDialog, and Dynamic Color. You practise Android Academy with hands-on code you run directly in the browser, and a 24/7 AI tutor answers your questions as you work through the lesson.

Do I need any experience to start Android Academy?

No prior experience is required. Android Academy on CoddyKit is structured for beginners through advanced learners; this is — lesson 1 of 5, so you can start here or from the beginning and move at your own pace.

How long does the “Material Design Basics” lesson take?

Most CoddyKit lessons take about 5–10 minutes. Each one is bite-sized and interactive, so you make steady progress and pick up exactly where you left off across the web and the app.

Can I write and run code in this Android Academy lesson?

Yes. Every Android Academy lesson includes a built-in code editor, so you write and run real code right in your browser and get instant AI feedback — no local setup required.

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