Imagine showcasing an app workflow to a client on a presentation, screen after screen. While running a design and development firm, this is what we did almost every third day. Frankly speaking it was irritating. Yes you can hyperlink slides on your presentation to get a dynamic effect and get an applause from the client. Yes there are great solutions available which allow you to collate all your app screens on the web, link them, export them to your mobile with all the transitions and showcase your app. But I wanted to simplify the way to showcase and share your app ideas.

I tried to solve my own pain points first. What if I could:

1. Enable my phone to create quick prototypes anywhere
2. Import app screens and link them to each other
3. Make the ‘most used’ native transitions available easily
4. Demo it to everyone like a native app with zero coding
5. Make exporting a project with your colleagues or client super simple

How did this help anyone?

1. Give a first hand experience of how the app would look and feel
2. Verification of the workflow by actually using the app
3. Manage changes better before actually putting effort into coding

So @prashanthchand, @kmadhub and me started discussing on the first version on the app, which made sure the pain points are addressed and here is our feature set for version 1: Add a project, import screens, link screens, add (best native) transitions, play like a native app, share with anyone.

After multiple iterations we ended up with this…

Hotspots was a little challenging. We had to make sure that they can be easily moved around, expanded or collapsed by providing the right size of handles at the corners.

Transitions was another area of focus. We wanted to make sure we cover most of the native transitions that you would find in majority of the apps today ( slide-ups, hamburger menus and the likes)

Once all the links and transitions are done, you hit play mode for a fullscreen native app experience. Exiting out of full screen requires you to pinch-in to the screen. We were not very happy with that, given the fact that you have to use both hands to come out of full screen mode (we have found a workaround, but more on that later).

Projects can be exported to Dropbox or iTunes. Exporting projects creates custom file types for editable and play-only versions. When you export it to Dropbox, it automatically creates a link for the project which can be shared via message or email. Your colleague or client simply has to click on the link to download the project and play it. We made sure it’s a seamless, hassle-free process.

This was Version 1. We used it for our client meetings and for sharing our app ideas. After some positive feedback we realised this can be used in multiple arenas: Founders pitching their ideas to VCs, designers giving demos of their work, product managers showcasing app workflows and ideas to colleagues, IT companies sharing ideas with potential clients! And thus ‘Demonstrate’ came into existence. (Named by @rgokul)

Demonstrate went live on the app store last month and we have been getting great response and feedback from our early users. Also here is a quick video where we created a demo of Instagram which works like a native app without writing a single line of code. Here is a quick demo of how easy it is to add hotspots and link screens to get an almost real-to-native-app experience.

We are still working to make Demonstrate better. I will write a follow up post on the improvements in the next update. Till then why don’t you give it a spin and I would love to hear your feedback.

Download from AppStore | Website