React Paper

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In web design UI needs clarity, structure, and visual depth to stand out. React Paper is a component from Material UI that brings these qualities to the forefront. It mimics real world paper giving your content shadow, shape, and elegance with minimal effort.

Whether if you're building dashboards, admin panels, or clean landing pages, Paper can become your go to for crafting beautiful layouts.

What is React Paper?

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Paper is a React component provided by Material UI. It copies the concept of an actual sheet of paper from Google's Material Design system.

Great for:

  • Background Color
  • Elevation
  • Rounded or square corners
  • Versatile styling using MUI's sx prop

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The Role of Paper
The idea comes from actual stacks of paper layered on a surface. This helps users visually understand hierarchy and grouping.
Using depth and elevation Paper can help you with:

  • Group Related Content
  • Highlight Sections
  • Improve Layout Structure
  • Enhance Readability

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Lets get set up
Install MUI and Paper.

npm install @mui/material @emotion/react @emotion/styled

Import Paper

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Basic Usage

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  • elevation={3} Adds a soft shadow
  • padding Is for spacing inside the container

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Important props for Paper

  • Elevation: Adds shadow depth 0-24, 0 is flat 24 is deep.

  • Variant: Use outlined to show a border instead of a shadow.

  • Square: If true it removes the default round corners.

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Best Practices

  • Use elevation to guide eyes and not overwhelm them.

  • Stick to 2-3 elevation levels for page clarity.

  • Try to avoid nesting Paper inside of other papers.

  • Combine with Box, Grid, or Stack for better looking layouts.

Conclusion
React Paper is a powerful UI container that brings structure, depth, and clarity to web applications. It fits great into dashboards, landing pages, and admin panels giving the content hierarchy with a visual polish.

Resources
https://mui.com/material-ui/getting-started/installation/?srsltid=AfmBOorZCdtDqoJJ_hNjON2Suk_lIbQuSyI3jL6PiETCVBFVu2GrvPyq
https://www.npmjs.com/package/react-native-paper
https://mui.com/material-ui/react-paper/?srsltid=AfmBOoptzFGTS6cbBMMSQpmGNhyfrkbaInQ-bbmPzS1GV74v8tif8kCL
https://www.thefabricator.com/thefabricator/article/bending/when-adopting-best-practices-isn-t-your-best-practice
https://blogs.purecode.ai/blogs/mui-paper
https://xpertlab.com/react-native-paper-material-design/