Vectornator rewind: 2020

Hey Vectornators!

Ever since we launched Vectornator on iPad back in 2017, we've been on a mission to make design easy, frictionless, and accessible.

This year brought a lot of surprises and changed the way most of us live our daily lives. We've been through a lot together.

But despite all these challenges, this was our biggest year yet for Vectornator!

Our team has been working remotely for most of the year, and we still got so much done. With more updates and user growth in 2020 than we've ever seen before, we are so excited to see where things will be going in the new year.

But first, let's rewind and take a look at what we've done together this year. Looking back, we're honestly shocked to see how far we've come in such a short amount of time.

User stats

This was our biggest year yet! We wanted to highlight a few impressive statistics from us and you, our users!

App updates

We had 35 total updates this year, including 5 major releases! A busy year!

X2: the precision update

In March, we launched Vectornator X2.

We added new features like rulers, native isometric grids, individual layer exporting, and more features designed to help our users design with greater precision.

X3: the user-experience update

In this update, we focused on the user experience. We introduced a redesigned UI that maximized the canvas space, as well as enhancing our rulers and smart guides. We also added an Augmented Reality feature, allowing users to see their designs up on a wall before printing them!

This was also the update where we introduced our News section, giving our users seamless access to our tutorials and blogs within the app itself.

During July we rolled out two smaller updates within the X3 version of the app, the first focusing on improving the desktop app's performance, and the other implementing seamless integration for Figma files being imported into Vectornator.

X4: the brushes update

The Vectornator X4 update introduced some of our best features yet. This version gave our users Brushes, which was one of the features you had been asking for the most!

We also implemented an unlimited Undo History, and a native Time-Lapse video export feature, as well as compatibility with Sketch files and an integration with Unsplash built into our native Import menu.

We also added some important features to make our user's working experience better, like improving our Artboard UX and adding Help Tooltips. With this feature, you can long-press any element in the app and get a tooltip explaining what that element does!

X5: the performance update

In our X5 update in October, we introduced the Font Picker and fixed a lot of performance issues with the app. We've been experiencing 90% few crashes since this update!

We updated the X5 version in the following months, implementing features like the ability to save custom brushes, greater control over the Time-Lapse and Undo features, and BigSur compatibility. (Including a new app icon!)

Our team also worked hard on making Vectornator a universal app and optimizing it for the new Apple M1-based Macs. These new chips make most features on Vectornator run at least twice as fast, if not more!

Fun stuff

But it wasn't all just app updates! We also dove deeper into content this year than ever before.

When the quarantine period started in March, we gave you a list of creative tips for combating boredom!

For April Fool's Day, we announced a new product that had some people very worried . . .

Interviews

We love showcasing artists and designers who are using Vectornator! Here's some interviews we did this year with some amazing Vectornators.

Alyona Kaznacheeva interview

This designer from St. Petersburg has been using Vectornator to teach her online graphic design courses!

Liam Brazier interview

This UK-based professional illustrator and animator uses Vectornator to make stunning low-poly art!

Asaad Sabouni interview

This amazing 19-year-old designer from Aleppo, Syria has been creating logos and design projects with only Vectornator and his iPhone!

Partnerships

Will Paterson is an incredible designer from England who has been creating YouTube content since 2012. We continued our partnership with him this year as he expanded his series of Vectornator tutorials. Check it out!

Will paterson interview

We also did an interview with him this year about his creative process, and he told us more about how Vectornator inspires his creative process!

Get this template

Get this template

Editorial blogs

We've also released quite a few editorial blogs this year, including:

• A breakdown of the best books you can find about Graphic Design.
• A profile on Jony Ive, one of the most influential designers of the century.
• A pleading letter to all clients everywhere. Signed sincerely, all designers.
• An analysis of some of the biggest design trends we were expecting in 2020.
• A look at the main recent trends in UI design that designer's should be familiar with.
• Some highlights from the history of design that will stoke your nostalgia.
• A collection of design challenges that you can try out yourself!

Features

Vectornator was featured on the Apple App Store multiple times this year!

We got featured in Apple "Future of Mac" event!
And we also were featured by Apple at the WWDC 2020!

Call with Tim Cook

In November, our CEO, Vladimir Danila, also had the privilege of being on a virtual office visit call with Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple!

The New Year

We have so many things in store for you in 2021, and we can't wait to share them with you.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Our team has accomplished a lot this year, but we never could have done it without your help.

From all of us at the Vectornator team, we wish you a refreshing, safe, and happy holiday season!

See you in 2021!