Android Mobile Design

Master Material Design 3 (Material You) and Jetpack Compose to build modern, adaptive Android applications that integrate seamlessly with the Android ecosystem.

When to Use This Skill

• Designing Android app interfaces following Material Design 3
• Building Jetpack Compose UI and layouts
• Implementing Android navigation patterns (Navigation Compose)
• Creating adaptive layouts for phones, tablets, and foldables
• Using Material 3 theming with dynamic colors
• Building accessible Android interfaces
• Implementing Android-specific gestures and interactions
• Designing for different screen configurations

Core Concepts

1. Material Design 3 Principles

Personalization: Dynamic color adapts UI to user's wallpaper Accessibility: Tonal palettes ensure sufficient color contrast Large Screens: Responsive layouts for tablets and foldables

Material Components:

• Cards, Buttons, FABs, Chips
• Navigation (rail, drawer, bottom nav)
• Text fields, Dialogs, Sheets
• Lists, Menus, Progress indicators

2. Jetpack Compose Layout System

Column and Row:

// Vertical arrangement with alignment
Column(
    modifier = Modifier.padding(16.dp),
    verticalArrangement = Arrangement.spacedBy(12.dp),
    horizontalAlignment = Alignment.Start
) {
    Text(
        text = "Title",
        style = MaterialTheme.typography.headlineSmall
    )
    Text(
        text = "Subtitle",
        style = MaterialTheme.typography.bodyMedium,
        color = MaterialTheme.colorScheme.onSurfaceVariant
    )
}

// Horizontal arrangement with weight
Row(
    modifier = Modifier.fillMaxWidth(),
    horizontalArrangement = Arrangement.SpaceBetween,
    verticalAlignment = Alignment.CenterVertically
) {
    Icon(Icons.Default.Star, contentDescription = null)
    Text("Featured")
    Spacer(modifier = Modifier.weight(1f))
    TextButton(onClick = {}) {
        Text("View All")
    }
}

Lazy Lists and Grids:

// Lazy column with sticky headers
LazyColumn {
    items.groupBy { it.category }.forEach { (category, categoryItems) ->
        stickyHeader {
            Text(
                text = category,
                modifier = Modifier
                    .fillMaxWidth()
                    .background(MaterialTheme.colorScheme.surface)
                    .padding(16.dp),
                style = MaterialTheme.typography.titleMedium
            )
        }
        items(categoryItems) { item ->
            ItemRow(item = item)
        }
    }
}

// Adaptive grid
LazyVerticalGrid(
    columns = GridCells.Adaptive(minSize = 150.dp),
    contentPadding = PaddingValues(16.dp),
    horizontalArrangement = Arrangement.spacedBy(12.dp),
    verticalArrangement = Arrangement.spacedBy(12.dp)
) {
    items(items) { item ->
        ItemCard(item = item)
    }
}

3. Navigation Patterns

Bottom Navigation:

@Composable
fun MainScreen() {
    val navController = rememberNavController()

    Scaffold(
        bottomBar = {
            NavigationBar {
                val navBackStackEntry by navController.currentBackStackEntryAsState()
                val currentDestination = navBackStackEntry?.destination

                NavigationDestination.entries.forEach { destination ->
                    NavigationBarItem(
                        icon = { Icon(destination.icon, contentDescription = null) },
                        label = { Text(destination.label) },
                        selected = currentDestination?.hierarchy?.any {
                            it.route == destination.route
                        } == true,
                        onClick = {
                            navController.navigate(destination.route) {
                                popUpTo(navController.graph.findStartDestination().id) {
                                    saveState = true
                                }
                                launchSingleTop = true
                                restoreState = true
                            }
                        }
                    )
                }
            }
        }
    ) { innerPadding ->
        NavHost(
            navController = navController,
            startDestination = NavigationDestination.Home.route,
            modifier = Modifier.padding(innerPadding)
        ) {
            composable(NavigationDestination.Home.route) { HomeScreen() }
            composable(NavigationDestination.Search.route) { SearchScreen() }
            composable(NavigationDestination.Profile.route) { ProfileScreen() }
        }
    }
}

Navigation Drawer:

@Composable
fun DrawerNavigation() {
    val drawerState = rememberDrawerState(DrawerValue.Closed)
    val scope = rememberCoroutineScope()

    ModalNavigationDrawer(
        drawerState = drawerState,
        drawerContent = {
            ModalDrawerSheet {
                Spacer(Modifier.height(12.dp))
                Text(
                    "App Name",
                    modifier = Modifier.padding