ALT When Google Design Went URL to IRL Rob Giampietro is Head of Creative at Notion in New York. Previously at Google on the Insight＋Innovation, Google AI/RMI, and Material Design teams, Rob’s key projects included the first SPAN Design & Technology global conferences, an overhaul of the Google Fonts directory, and a Google-branded customization of Material Design. Here — as part of our celebration of a decade of Material Design — Rob delves into the origins of the SPAN conference that helped define the design identity of Google, and explores how creating unique cultural events for a global audience brought Material to life in a whole new way.

ALT Curiosity, Flexibility, and Expression Material is very unique in the sense that, at its core, it represents a three-way partnership between Google, a community of makers both inside and outside of Google, and end users. As Material evolved, we started hearing from makers that they wanted even more flexibility: everything from increased accessibility features, to — most commonly — the ability to set specific components' sizes.

ALT Material Design Eras: Zach Gibson

ALT Material Design Eras: Dieter Bohn

ALT Material Design Eras: Christian Robertson

ALT Material Design Eras: Lynn Jepsen

ALT When FORM Brought Screen to Stage Paul Schlacter is a senior designer for Google’s Search Design System. He joined Google in 2014 and helped launch FORM and design.google; worked on Google Design and SPAN for the next four years; then joined Corp Eng to help improve internal tools and branding. Here — as part of our celebration of a decade of Material Design — Paul remembers the creative beginnings of FORM, Google’s first design conference, which took the dynamic principles of Material Design and presented them live in San Francisco.

ALT Material Eras: M2 Material 2 allowed us to go deeper and to develop the system even further. Behind the scenes, we were bringing together two different worlds and skill sets: design and engineering. It was important — and challenging! — to develop a shared language. Our designers were pushing the boundaries of what good design could look like at scale, and that meant asking for a lot from the kick-ass team of engineers I had assembled.

ALT When FORM Brought Screen to Stage Paul Schlacter is a senior designer for Google’s Search Design System. He joined Google in 2014 and helped launch FORM and design.google; worked on Google Design and SPAN for the next four years; then joined Corp Eng to help improve internal tools and branding. As part of our celebration of a decade of Material Design, Paul remembers the creative beginnings of FORM, Google’s first design conference, which took the dynamic principles of Material Design and presented them live in San Francisco.

ALT Material Eras: Exploring the evolution of Google’s open-source design system. It’s been a decade since Material made its global debut. Five influential Googlers reflect on the ever-evolving design system that has shaped how we interact with our devices — and how they interact with us.