Two Australian app developers have been named among Apple’s top 14 designers globally in 2024.
Ranked across seven categories, Apple said its annual Design Awards recognised innovation, ingenuity, and technical achievement in app and game design.
Sydney-based Isuru Wanasinghe came out on top in the Delight & Fun category with Bears Gratitude.
Apple judges said journaling apps didn’t get much cuter than Bears Gratitude, which they described as a warm and welcoming way to establish, and maintain, a daily gratitude practice.
“Yes, the bears and other characters are super-huggable and turn up in delightfully unexpected places. But they also serve as a welcoming way into the content,” the judges said.
“And with its thoughtfully considered touchpoints, Bears Gratitude is a simple way to encourage and embrace honest self-reflection.”
The other Aussie winner was Tasmanian company Savage Interactive which produced Procreate Dreams, which took out the Innovation category.
Procreate Dreams, which Apple judges said set a new standard in creating 2D animations in IPad, was also a finalist in the Interaction category.
Judges said Procreate Dreams was a well-designed tool that allowed creatives of all kinds to animate using an extensive and familiar library of brushes, gestures, and PencilKit-enabled behaviours from the original Procreate.
“Its controls are effortlessly intuitive — multitouch interactions and Apple Pencil are both supported — so it’s easy to jump right in, whether you’re a career animator or brand new to the medium.”
