Google is in the process of revamping the entire look of the Android ecosystem. Material Design will make its big entrance with Android L, and it will bring with it an inherent focus on colors, interactive shadows, and superposed elements. If you have already flashed the Android L preview on your device, you’re already benefiting from many of its visual novelties, but if you don’t want to go through this process (or if there isn’t an L ROM for your device), you have easier alternatives in the form of iconsets, themes, and wallpapers.
Android L iconsets
Etched Material Icons is one of the most Material’istic icon sets I have seen. It uses Android L’s round action button (like the New Message button in Google+) as its template and applies various vibrant colors to it, along with carefully crafted white symbols inside to differentiate between apps. More than 400 icons are supported, but Etched also comes with an icon mask that will put that circle behind any of your non-themed icons, essentially making them fit as well as they could.
Etched Material Icons
Moonshine Icon Pack adopts a different strategy by going for similar icons to those seen in the Android L release, and flattening them as much as possible. It contains more than 400 designed icons too, and 17 wallpapers to boot. It doesn’t have an icon mask though.
Moonshine Icon Set
Other alternatives: Material Design Icon Pack HD, Elun Icon Pack
Android L wallpapers
Google packed only a couple of new wallpapers with its Android L preview, but developers have been trying hard to emulate that look as fast and as much as possible. Android L Wallpapers packs the default L wallpapers along with a few additions that match its style. Android L Wallpapers pro (by another developer) is the better alternative though, with over 700 flat, geometric, simple, and beautiful L-inspired wallpapers.
Android L Wallpapers pro
Android L themes
If you’re running a custom ROM on your Android device with a builtin theme engine (like CyanogenMod, Paranoid Android, and others), you will be able to transform almost the entire look of your device to emulate Android L, from the notification bar to the keyboard, and even certain apps.
Android L Theme is one of the most advanced L-like themes available. It goes beyond the notification bar and keyboard, and themes the entire Settings area, many apps’ headers, the dialer, and more. If you don’t like the white look, you may want to check the theme’s dark alternative.
Android L Theme
MateriaL is an Android L-inspired theme. It doesn’t try to emulate the exact look of L, but gets many cues from it and implements them throughout the entire interface. It is mostly focused on the notification area, Settings, and dialogue boxes, but it is beautiful nonetheless and makes perfect use of the teal and greenish blue colors of Android L.
MateriaL
Are you itching for Android L? If so, what customization options are you using to make your device’s interface look as close to Material Design as possible?
