The guys from Sketch & Scotch were nice enough to give us some promo codes to give to our readers. The first five people to comment requesting the app will get on
I recently had the opportunity to interview the guys from Sketch & Scotch, developers of the Comic Strip app.
Mobile Orchard: Please tell us about Sketch and Scotch. How did the company start?
Sketch & Scotch: The three of us (Jon Demidio, Simon Chao, Q. Lam) met at work. We quickly discovered that we had an affinity for technology, design, and cool innovative ideas. We’re also big Apple geeks. After a couple years of talking various ideas and products at the poker table, we decided to put our money where our mouths were. The goal of Sketch & Scotch for us is to actually deliver on our ideas and not just talk about them. We officially formed Sketch & Scotch in the summer of 2010.
MO: How many iOS apps have you released?
S&S: So far we have released ComicStrip and have a few other ideas in the works as well as constantly striving to improve ComicStrip.
MO: Where did you get the idea for ComicStrip?
S&S: Being in our late 20′s and early 30′s we remembered the good old days of reading comic books and seeing how much those few words in a caption adds to the overall story of the comic.
We also noticed that a lot of applications were being developed around sharing memories specifically through photos. For us it was a natural fit. What better way to tell your story than in a format that everyone recognized and that almost everyone has a fond memory of.
MO: How long did it take for you from the time you came up with the idea to it being accepted in the app store?
S&S: After a few start and stops, I’d say it took us about 7-8 months starting from story boarding through development and submission to Apple working on the app in the evenings and on the weekends.
MO: What was the approval process like for the app store?
S&S: The approval process for us went by without a hitch. Apple has very carefully implemented a thorough process and provided all the tools necessary. It took our app a little over a week to get approved. Having heard and read some of the horror stories out there we were a bit nervous heading into it but looking back, we had nothing to worry about.
MO: Any changes you would like to see in this process?
S&S: I can’t really see any major process improvements that I’d want changed. I believe that as long as you’re within the guidelines that Apple provides, you shouldn’t have a problem getting your app approved.
MO: Do you plan to start developing for the iPad?
S&S: The initial release of ComicStrip is universal so it works on iPad as it exists. We wanted to provide the extra flexibility and value to our customers from the beginning. Having said that we do think there are some interesting ways we can take advantage of the iPad with ComicStrip.
Right now it’s a matter of prioritizing where we should focus our energy but we definitely want to work on iPad specific development going forward.
MO: What advice would you give to someone interested in getting into app development for iOS?
S&S: Get started, the tools are free! One of the things that helped us tremendously is simply starting out with a pen and paper. Sketch out your idea and ask why you would want to use the application. Research the store for similar ideas and find applications that inspire you or that you admire to help you narrow your focus. Don’t get too caught up in the technology or solution,
make sure your application does what it does intuitively and elegantly.
MO: What tools do you use in the app development process?
S&S: Xcode is a great tool set for developers. For the design, Adobe’s Photoshop and Fireworks were used predominantly. We also used Google Docs often to share documents between us.
MO: Any tips or advice you would like to give to new developers on marketing their app?
S&S: We haven’t marketed our app very much in the traditional sense, however, what has helped us tremendously is the power of our social network. Facebook and twitter served us tremendously well. Your friends and family are more often than not more excited about your apps then you are so make sure you let them know. It’s not really a tip but we have found that Apple itself is the best marketing you could ever get. We were fortunate to have our app mentioned in the Apple store in the U.S. and U.K.
MO: What is your favorite app?
S&S: Our favorite apps are Reeder, Flipboard, and Facebook.
The guys from Sketch & Scotch were nice enough to give us some promo codes to give to our readers. The first five people to comment requesting the app will get one. Good luck!