June 12, 2015

The Apples of Apple’s Eye: The 2015 Design Award Winners

Apple has selected 12 winning apps for its 2015 Apple Design Awards. The apps range from basic puzzle games to a modern day “Frogger” to a sophisticated stock app that could turn an average techie into Michael Douglas from “Wall Street.”

And the winners are…

1. AFFINITY DESIGNER

Affinity Designer is a graphic design app used to create and edit vector and pixel-based images. The Force Touch trackpad feature enhances the creative experience by allowing designers the ability to draw and paint with pressure sensitivity.

2. CROSSY ROAD

Crossy Road is the new “Frogger” – only it’s a chicken trying to cross the road instead of a frog. (Why did the chicken cross the road anyway?) Fans of the classic 80’s arcade-style games will appreciate the nostalgia.

3. DOES NOT COMMUTE

Does Not Commute is a strategic driving game set in a small town in the 1970’s. Get to know the townspeople and the latest gossip as you navigate your car to your destination (while listening to a pretty smooth jazz soundtrack).

4. ELEMENTARY MINUTE

Elementary Minute was selected as a winner in the Student category. It’s a simple categories-based quiz game app that can be played in two challenge modes: Classic and Rush.

5. FANTASTICAL 2

Fantastical 2 is a next-generation calendar app. Customized views allow a user to see schedules and tasks in the most convenient format. The app works with most other calendaring services, including Google, Yahoo and of course, iCloud.

6. JUMP-O

Another winner in the Student Category, Jump-O is a minimalist black & white, hand-drawn gaming app that challenges players (which are the “circles”) to survive in a square world by jumping around to avoid spikes and bullets.

7. METAMORPHABET

Learning your ABCs has never been as entertaining as with the Metamorphabet app. Letters literally come alive in this interactive animated learning application that can be enjoyed by both children and adults as well.

8. PACEMAKER

Pacemaker is a music mixing app that can turn anyone into a DJ. The application allows users the ability to create playlists and add in special effects, such as ChopChop, Reverb, Echo and Hi-Lo. It’s the perfect app to use to control music for your next party or event.

9. ROBINHOOD

Robinhood is a stock trading app designed to both engage and educate the next generation of investors. Crowdsourcing allows the sharing of stock tips, advice and predictions and can help even the most novice user become a well-educated investor.

10. SHADOWMATIC

Shadowmatic is a 3D gaming app that challenges you to find familiar shapes amongst the shadows. The app features over 80 unique puzzles with gorgeous graphical content.

11. VAINGLORY

Vainglory is a multi-player online battle arena (MOBA) gaming app with over 100 fully animated characters and two-finger touch controls. In the game, two teams compete to destroy a giant crystal in the other’s base. The app already has a huge fan following.

12. WORKFLOW

Workflow is designed to automate your mobile device apps. Create shortcuts for things like ordering an Uber car or creating GIFs from your photo library. You can even turn one of your workflows into your own app.

Why not head on over to the Apple App Store and download a few of these winning apps for yourself? You could become the next big famous DJ, Wall Street mogul, or at least have the high score on Crossy Road.