Angular Material vs Material Design: What are the differences?

Introduction

Angular Material and Material Design are two related but distinct concepts in the world of web development. While Angular Material is a UI component framework specifically designed for Angular applications, Material Design is a design language created by Google for crafting visually appealing and cohesive user interfaces across platforms. Despite their interconnectedness, there are several key differences between Angular Material and Material Design.

1. Architecture: Angular Material is built on top of the Angular framework, utilizing its powerful features and concepts. It provides a set of reusable UI components and services that can be used to create consistent and responsive user interfaces. On the other hand, Material Design is a design system that provides guidelines, principles, and patterns for designing user interfaces, irrespective of the framework or technology being used.

2. Integration: Angular Material seamlessly integrates with Angular, making it easy to incorporate its components and design patterns into Angular applications. It provides a wide range of pre-built UI components, such as buttons, cards, dialogs, and menus, that can be easily customized and used in Angular projects. Material Design, on the other hand, is a design language that can be implemented in any web or mobile development project, regardless of the framework or platform being used. It provides a set of guidelines and resources for designing intuitive and visually appealing interfaces.

3. Adoption: Angular Material is widely adopted by the Angular community and is the recommended UI component library for Angular applications. It is actively maintained and updated by the Angular team, ensuring compatibility and consistency with the Angular framework. Material Design, on the other hand, has gained popularity across various platforms and frameworks, as it provides a comprehensive set of design guidelines and resources that can be customized and adapted to different projects and technologies.

4. Customization: Angular Material provides a high level of customization options, allowing developers to tailor the appearance and behavior of its components to match their specific design requirements. It supports theming, allowing the application to have a unified look and feel by applying custom color schemes and typography. Material Design, on the other hand, provides a set of standardized design elements and principles that can be used as a starting point for designing interfaces. While it offers flexibility in terms of customization, it is primarily focused on maintaining consistency and coherence across different platforms and applications.

5. Community Support: Angular Material benefits from the extensive community support of the Angular ecosystem. It has a large and active community of developers, who contribute to its development, provide support, and share their knowledge through forums and tutorials. Material Design, being a design language developed by Google, also has a vast community of designers and developers contributing to its growth. It has a dedicated website and forums where developers can find resources, get inspiration, and seek help.

6. Tooling: Angular Material comes with a set of powerful development tools and utilities that enhance the developer experience when working with its components. It provides comprehensive documentation, code samples, and demo applications that guide developers in using its components effectively. Material Design, on the other hand, offers a range of design tools and resources, such as icon sets, color palettes, and typography guidelines, that aid in the creation of visually consistent and aesthetically pleasing interfaces.

In Summary, Angular Material is a UI component framework built specifically for Angular applications, providing a wide range of customizable components and seamless integration with Angular. Material Design, on the other hand, is a design language created by Google that provides guidelines and resources for designing visually appealing and intuitive user interfaces across platforms and technologies.