Early this morning in Korea, our team was wide awake fueled by special news. On June 3rd, Apple announced the Apple Design Awards winners ahead of WWDC25. Feather was honored to be the winner in the 'Visuals and Graphics' category. This marks Feather's first Apple Design Award, a truly meaningful achievement made possible by the incredible support and encouragement of our many creators. We are truly grateful.
However, this is not the end for us; it is only the beginning. We are preparing for the upcoming Feather 2.0 update to keep pace with the fast-evolving creative world. We would like to share our roadmap outlining both 'Plans' and 'Vision' for what comes next.
Plan
Feather 2.0 is scheduled for release in Q4 2025. It aims to address a wide range of feature requests, from fill tools to animations, and to fully take advantage of the ever-improving performance of the iPad.
As such a significant version upgrade suggests, Feather 2.0's most pivotal enhancement will be the replacement of its engine.
Metal Feather
'Metal' is a graphics and programming interface provided by Apple. As its name suggests, Feather was developed with the goal of being a lightweight creative tool. However, due to the limitations of its previous engine, we faced significant challenges in adding features flexibly and optimizing performance.
The name 'Metal' might seem ironic next to 'Feather', but as an engine optimized for Apple hardware, we expect it to provide an even lighter, faster, and more powerful user experience. Along with the engine replacement, the following features will be updated.
- Improved Drawing Experience
Natural 3D drawing is one of the most essential experiences of Feather. The new drawing algorithm will provide a lighter and more refined 3D drawing experience, utilizing the full functionality and potential of Apple Pencil. - Bucket Fill
The fill tool was always on top of our bucket list. As our most requested feature, it deserved a thoughtful and refined implementation. With the 2.0 update, we will offer fill tools that allow for erasing, selection, and liquify. - Brush Customization
Every stroke drawn with Feather is a curve with 3D coordinates that can be procedurally handled. We will introduce a 3D brush customization system in Feather 2.0 that maximizes the value of each individual curve. This will be a primary feature of the update, allowing users to define a wide range of shapes and behaviors through a free and intuitive interface. - Improved Selection and Transform
Significant improvements focused on intuitive control are planned, including algorithm enhancements, the addition of features like Lasso Select, and smarter interactions such as brush size responding naturally to the scale of transformed objects. - Subgroup Creation and Management
It turns out the fill tool at the top of our bucket list came with a hidden checklist, just like an outliner, and “group-in-group” was right underneath it. This is our second most requested feature. Hierarchical group management and overall interface convenience improvements are the final main goals for the 2.0 update.
These are not the only features we aim to deliver with Metal Feather. We plan to continuously add various features requested by the community, such as Undo/Redo gestures, measurement tools, more diverse patterns, a left-handed interface, and in-app tutorials.
Vision
The vision of the Feather team is to let creators draw anything they imagine. This vision has never changed, but the shape of imagination continues to evolve with the times. Imagination can be spatial, animated, it can move or make sounds, or it can be an abstract yet productive algorithm beyond words. We believe that Feather can be the tool for everyone who works with any form of imagination in the future. Here is how we envision that future.
- Ideation
Our goal is to design the best ideation tool. Since ideas evolve between various forms and formats, ideation tools need a 'board' to anchor those ideas visually, just like a whiteboard filled with post-its. Feather aims to go beyond just a drawing tool, becoming a 3D ideation board where spatial ideas can be explored and developed with freedom. - Animation
The next goal is to build a tool that can draw animations. Starting with small features for sketching and capturing motion, we will support creators who need 'movement in space' – from film directors exploring dynamic camera paths, to architects presenting their projects or game developers planning unique level designs. - Communication
From sharing works to explaining and collaborating through feedback, we plan to address communication at various scales. Rather than hoping 'real-time' interaction will solve everything, we will focus on the fundamental principles of collective ideation and development. Feather Gallery, which is the first step of this, allows anyone to share or view creations and communicate asynchronously with other creators. We are planning to gradually expand this experience by adding features such as shared folders for individuals or studio-level use.
The last part of our vision talks about generative tools. We're entering an era where turning ideas into various media is faster and easier than ever. While this may still be a distant future for Feather, it's impossible to discuss the future of creativity without generative tools anymore.
Art of Interaction
As both toolmakers and creators ourselves, we have been testing various generative tools. The more we used them, the more we saw how we could enrich and express rough and nascent sparks of ideas efficiently. These tools carry immense potential in following ideas and bringing them to life.
However, there were limitations when ideas were delivered through formats like text prompts or images. The more original and unique an idea was, the harder it became to preserve its intention and value when it was expressed, often getting distorted or lost. We found ourselves endlessly compromising on our ideas. Eventually, we realized the need for a new workflow that could more accurately convey the creator's intent.
Feather was designed as a tool to communicate ideas that are hard to describe in words from the beginning. In the future creative environment, Feather will continue to assist in the more delicate and intuitive communication of ideas, acting as a crucial pre-generative tool. Every important element from 3D sketches to notes, group names, relationships with references, and even the process itself will be utilized as prompts.
If the productivity of generative tools could fully support all creators, new and creative ideas will stand out more than ever. Helping you shape and share those ideas is our ultimate vision.
Thank you to all the artists, designers, and creators who supported Feather along the way. Each time we designed or developed a new feature, it was your understanding of the meticulous thought behind our decisions that made the process of building Feather so joyful.
We believe this Apple Design Award is not just recognition for what we’ve built, but encouragement for what we’re about to build.
We’ve made it this far because so many of you shared in the vision of what Feather could be. We’ll continue working closely with creators until Feather becomes a natural and essential tool for everyone.
Thank you for your congratulations and support. This is enough. Now, it's time to focus back on our journey.
Team Feather