Implement Material 3 Typography in Jetpack Compose with Ease

Material Design 3 (M3) is Google’s latest iteration of its design system, emphasizing personalization, accessibility, and dynamic theming. Jetpack Compose, Google’s modern UI toolkit for Android, provides seamless integration with Material 3’s components and guidelines. In this post, we’ll explore how to implement Material 3 Typography in Jetpack Compose effectively, covering its features, customization, and advanced use cases.

Table of Contents

1. What is Material 3 Typography?

2. Setting Up Material 3 in Jetpack Compose

3. Exploring Material 3 Typography

4. Customizing Typography for Your App

5. Best Practices for Material 3 Typography in Compose

6. Advanced Use Cases

1. What is Material 3 Typography?

Material 3 Typography provides a comprehensive set of text styles designed for readability, adaptability, and aesthetic coherence. The system introduces new type scales that are more flexible and cater to diverse use cases across devices.

Key features of Material 3 Typography:

• Dynamic Type Scales: Adapts to different screen sizes and user preferences.

• Consistency: Predefined styles ensure design harmony across components.

• Accessibility: Enhances readability through adjustable font sizes and weights.

The Role of Typography in Modern Apps

Typography is more than just styling text; it defines the visual language of your app. A well-implemented typography system improves user experience, aligns with branding, and ensures content accessibility.

2. Setting Up Material 3 in Jetpack Compose

Before diving into typography, ensure your app is ready to use Material 3.

Step 1: Update Dependencies

Add the Material 3 library to your project’s build.gradle file:

dependencies {
    implementation("androidx.compose.material3:material3:<latest-version>")
}

Check AndroidX releases for the latest version.

Step 2: Configure Material 3 Theme

Update your Theme.kt file to use the Material 3 theme:

@Composable
fun MyAppTheme(
    darkTheme: Boolean = isSystemInDarkTheme(),
    content: @Composable () -> Unit
) {
    val colorScheme = if (darkTheme) {
        darkColorScheme()
    } else {
        lightColorScheme()
    }

    MaterialTheme(
        colorScheme = colorScheme,
        typography = Typography,
        content = content
    )
}

3. Exploring Material 3 Typography

Material 3 introduces a standardized typography scale with predefined styles for various text elements:

Style	Description	Example Use Case
DisplayLarge	Large headers	Splash screens, headlines
HeadlineMedium	Medium-sized headers	Section titles
BodyLarge	Main body text	Paragraphs
LabelSmall	Small labels	Button or chip text

Each style is defined as a TextStyle object within the Typography class. Here’s an example of Material 3’s default typography:

val Typography = Typography(
    displayLarge = TextStyle(
        fontFamily = FontFamily.Default,
        fontWeight = FontWeight.Normal,
        fontSize = 57.sp,
        lineHeight = 64.sp
    ),
    bodyLarge = TextStyle(
        fontFamily = FontFamily.Default,
        fontWeight = FontWeight.Normal,
        fontSize = 16.sp,
        lineHeight = 24.sp
    )
    // Add other styles as needed
)

Using Typography in Compose

To apply typography, use the Text composable:

Text(
    text = "Hello, Material 3!",
    style = MaterialTheme.typography.displayLarge
)

4. Customizing Typography for Your App

While Material 3’s default typography is robust, customizing it to match your brand’s identity is essential.

Step 1: Define a Custom Typography Set

Create a new Typography object with customized TextStyle values:

val CustomTypography = Typography(
    displayLarge = TextStyle(
        fontFamily = FontFamily.Serif,
        fontWeight = FontWeight.Bold,
        fontSize = 60.sp,
        lineHeight = 72.sp
    ),
    bodyLarge = TextStyle(
        fontFamily = FontFamily.SansSerif,
        fontWeight = FontWeight.Medium,
        fontSize = 18.sp,
        lineHeight = 28.sp
    )
    // Add other custom styles
)

Step 2: Apply Custom Typography in Theme

Pass your custom typography set to the MaterialTheme:

MaterialTheme(
    colorScheme = colorScheme,
    typography = CustomTypography,
    content = content
)

Step 3: Use Custom Fonts

To incorporate custom fonts, add your font files to the res/font directory and reference them in a FontFamily:

val CustomFontFamily = FontFamily(
    Font(R.font.my_custom_font_regular, FontWeight.Normal),
    Font(R.font.my_custom_font_bold, FontWeight.Bold)
)

val CustomTypography = Typography(
    bodyLarge = TextStyle(
        fontFamily = CustomFontFamily,
        fontWeight = FontWeight.Normal,
        fontSize = 16.sp
    )
)

5. Best Practices for Material 3 Typography in Compose

• Leverage Predefined Styles: Use Material 3’s predefined styles for consistency.

• Ensure Accessibility: Verify text readability with appropriate contrast ratios and scalable sizes.

• Adopt Responsive Design: Use sp for text sizes to support dynamic scaling.

• Centralize Typography Definitions: Maintain typography definitions in a single file for easy updates.

• Test Across Devices: Ensure typography looks good on different screen sizes and orientations.

6. Advanced Use Cases

Dynamic Typography Adjustments

Adapt typography dynamically based on user preferences:

val typography = if (isLargeScreen) {
    LargeScreenTypography
} else {
    SmallScreenTypography
}

MaterialTheme(
    typography = typography,
    content = content
)

Integrating with Animations

Animate typography changes using Compose’s animation APIs:

val animatedSize by animateDpAsState(targetValue = if (expanded) 24.sp else 16.sp)

Text(
    text = "Dynamic Typography",
    style = MaterialTheme.typography.bodyLarge.copy(fontSize = animatedSize)
)

Conclusion

Implementing Material 3 Typography in Jetpack Compose is straightforward yet powerful, offering flexibility and design consistency. By understanding its structure and leveraging customization options, you can create visually appealing, accessible, and brand-aligned text experiences in your apps. With these best practices and advanced techniques, your app’s typography will stand out and enhance the overall user experience.

Start implementing Material 3 Typography today and elevate your Android app’s design!