Play - Native iOS Product Design Tool

Rethinking Mobile Design with a Phone-First Approach

Traditionally, mobile design has been a fragmented process, requiring designers to switch between multiple applications for design, prototyping, and collaboration.

A new company, Play, is positioning itself as a unique solution, claiming to be the sole native iOS product design tool enabling creation, iteration, and teamwork directly from a smartphone.

A New Paradigm for Product Design

According to Dan LaCivita, co-founder and co-CEO, existing software often necessitates complex workarounds to achieve similar functionality.

“Play represents a fundamental shift, utilizing the phone as the primary means of input,” LaCivita explained to TechCrunch. “It empowers designers to create, prototype, and collaborate entirely on their phone, offering a direct experience of designs on the intended medium – essentially allowing them to innovate within Apple’s ecosystem without requiring coding expertise.”

Features and Functionality

Users have the flexibility to begin projects from a blank canvas or import existing designs from platforms such as Figma.

The Play Library provides a range of pre-built user interface elements, including buttons, cards, and video players, while Page Layouts offer customizable templates for rapid page creation.

Furthermore, the tool integrates seamlessly with native iOS capabilities like live maps, augmented reality, and the device’s camera.

The Genesis of Play

Founded in 2019 by Dan LaCivita, Eric Eng, Joon Park, and Michael Ferdman, the team previously collaborated at Firstborn, a company specializing in website and mobile application development.

“Our firsthand experience highlighted the existing challenges,” LaCivita stated. “Joon recognized the need for a more efficient approach, building upon established graphic design principles but reimagining the input method – specifically, leveraging the phone’s capabilities.”

Availability and Pricing

Play is currently available on the App Store, though access is limited to a private beta program with a waitlist exceeding 25,000 individuals.

Access will be granted incrementally over the coming months and into the next year.

The current model is freemium, with plans to introduce tiered pricing options in the future.

Recent Funding and Future Development

The company recently secured $9.1 million in funding, led by First Round Capital and Oceans Ventures, combining seed rounds from earlier this year and the previous year.

These funds will be allocated to expanding the team and developing new products, including Play for iPad, announced just two weeks ago in response to customer demand.

The recent unveiling of the Teams feature further enhances collaborative capabilities.

A Collaborative Partnership

LaCivita described a strong rapport with Todd Jackson from First Round Capital, emphasizing a collaborative partnership rather than a traditional venture capitalist relationship.

Jackson initially discovered Play on Twitter and was immediately intrigued, drawing on his prior experience with designers facing similar usability issues at Dropbox and Facebook.

He shared Play with colleagues, who spent considerable time building designs and animations previously exclusive to desktop environments.

Unlocking Mobile Innovation

“I was surprised by the extent of what could be accomplished on a phone,” Jackson remarked. “There’s a common assumption that design tools are limited to specific functionalities, but Play challenges that notion.”

“Many promising mobile product ideas remain unrealized due to the difficulty of sharing and iterating on designs. Play removes this barrier, empowering a wider range of creators.”