Four apps win Material Design awards, including Lyft and Anchor

Each year, Google gives out awards to various Android apps which it feels exemplify the Google design language known as Material Design. The 2018 winners of this prestigious acknowledgment were just announced.

There are four winners this year, with each app earning its award within four distinct categories: expression, innovation, experience, and adaptation. Although the winners are listed below, the app creators will be officially acknowledged at SPAN Helsinki tomorrow, November 1.

Here are this year’s winners:

• Expression — KptnCook
• Innovation — Lyft
• Experience — Simple Habit Meditation
• Adaptation — Anchor

KptnCook is a recipes app which also doubles as a kind of Cooking 101 class, presenting recipes in easy-to-follow guides with a clutter-free UI. Google says the app presents an “intimidation-free approach to cooking” which “extends through the app’s engaging, hassle-free design.” Google commends KptnCook’s “harmonious use of color, imagery, typography, and motion.”

Lyft is probably the most popular app of the group of winners this year. Like rival app Uber, Lyft connects riders with drivers to give users easy access to ride-sharing services. Google commends the Lyft app for using a unique take on Material Design, which enables the app to “seamlessly realize a singular brand expression.”

Simple Habit Meditation, as its name would suggest, is a wellness app which focuses on getting users into habits which can lead to their own betterment and relaxation. Since the app is all about de-stressing, it needs to have a design which promotes that experience, and Google thinks it has succeeded admirably.

Finally, Anchor is an app which helps anyone record a podcast — even if you’ve never done so before. Google commends the Anchor team for creating a “seamless flow across platforms and devices.” Anchor can be used on Android, iOS, and the web, and all three platforms deliver the same user experience and design elements.

You can read more about the winners and what Google has to say about them at the Google Design blog.

NEXT: 10 best Material Design apps for Android