Apple has named the best apps at the Design Awards 2022
Apple has released a list of the 12 apps available on the App Store that have been judged by editors to be the best in their categories. The annual Design Awards traditionally feature six categories, with each category recognizing the top two apps.
“Inclusivity” category
The main criteria for this nomination are: the availability of the application to as many people as possible and the absence of barriers to the use of the software as much as possible. This year, the editors deemed the VoiceOver-enabled drawing app, Procreate, to be the one that best meets these criteria. And overall, this app’s toolset was deemed the most user-friendly, regardless of skills or language or other abilities.
Also awarded is Wylde Flowers, a game that helps people understand the world’s diversity and accept other people for who they are.
“Pleasure and fun” nomination
The criteria used to determine the winners of this nomination are in the title.
The winners in this category were the habit tracker (Not Boring) Habits and the game Overboard! The last one was awarded for its very interesting and not quite standard plot: in this crime-detective game the player is offered not to play as a detective or policeman, as in many other games of such kind, but as a criminal. Also interesting is its multiple ending options, which encourages the user to play the game several times.
“Interactivity” nomination
The main criterion for this category: the application’s intuitive interface, which allows the user to learn all the options and settings very quickly. The winners in this category were the music game A Musical Story and the Slopes app. The latter was released for fans of skiing and is a serious database, built in such a way that the user is very easy to navigate in this vast array of information.
“The Social Impact” category
This category recognises applications that improve people’s lives and are created in response to significant social and other issues.
The winners in this category were Gibbon: Beyond the Trees, a game that focuses the user’s attention on environmental issues, and Rebel Girls, a collection of interesting and highly educational audio stories about extraordinary women.
“Design and graphics” category
There’s no need to dwell on the criteria when talking about this category, as they’re obvious from the title. In this category, the Halide Mark II add-on and the LEGO Star Wars: Castaways game won the editorial award.
“Innovation” category
This category recognises applications which are worthy of being described as a “breakthrough” in their genre. This time Marvel Future Revolution and Odio. The latter is a new word in the field of audio applications, offering the user a very interesting set of ambient sounds with Spatial Audio support.
