Innovative, Inclusive, and Engaging: Inside the Apps That Snagged Apple's Design Awards
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Discovering the Best of the Best in Apple's 2024 Design Awards:
In the latest episode of iOS Today, hosts Mikah Sargent and Rosemary Orchard share the winners and finalists of the Apple Design Awards 2024. These annual awards spotlight the most innovative, inclusive, and downright delightful apps and games across Apple's ever-expanding ecosystem. Let's explore some of the standout honorees that left our hosts thoroughly impressed.
Delight and Fun
In the Delight and Fun category, Bears Gratitude charmed its way to the top spot for apps. Rosemary couldn't help but gush over its adorable artwork, noting, "It is really genuinely nice and all of the artwork in it is hand-drawn, so there's over 100 hand-drawn bears inside, which you know, is just great." For games, the unstoppable NYT Games claimed the prize. Mikah, a self-proclaimed non-gamer, admitted, "That's probably the one game that I launch regularly on my phone."
Inclusivity
The Inclusivity category celebrated apps and games that go above and beyond in providing exceptional experiences for users of all backgrounds and abilities. Crayola Adventures made a splash with its groundbreaking character creation options. Mikah praised how its inclusivity "is not just kind of tacked on after the fact," but thoughtfully integrated throughout the game. In the app arena, oko blew our hosts away with its AI-powered accessible navigation. Rosemary enthusiastically recommended it, stating, "I personally think that this is an app that everybody should give a try to at least once."
Innovation
In the Innovation category, Lost in Play had our hosts utterly enchanted with its beautifully illustrated, interactive graphic novel style. Mikah couldn't contain his excitement, exclaiming, "It's truly delightful and looks like it belongs on Cartoon Network or something. It's like you're watching a cartoon play out, but you are playing the cartoon." Procreate Dreams pushed the boundaries of digital illustration, with Rosemary noting how it "always does its best to take advantage of the Apple Pencil."
Interaction
For Interaction, Crouton cooked up a storm with its inventive recipe manager and meal planner. Rosemary raved about its unique controls, like using facial gestures to navigate recipes, proclaiming, "I love that!" In games, Rytmos had Mikah floored. He gushed, "Just incredible, just absolutely incredible. You feel like you're making music while playing a puzzle game, and there's something so delightful about that."
The episode also touches on notable finalists that piqued our hosts' interests, like the immersive anatomy app Complete Anatomy 2024 ("It's kind of wow. I honestly recommend everybody just download this app just to see what's available for free and kind of have your mind boggled," said Mikah), the moving puzzle game Unpacking (Rosemary admitted, "It's on my list of games that I would love to play"), and the accessible planner Tiimo.
To hear Mikah and Rosemary's full thoughts and lively discussion on these remarkable apps and games, be sure to tune in to the complete episode of iOS Today. And stay tuned for part two, where they'll explore the winners that left them awestruck in the Social Impact, Visuals and Graphics, and Spatial Computing categories.
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