Recently we had an opportunity to speak with Vasile Tiplea, the Director of Product & Design at Creative27 about District27

Please share with us the backstory of what motivated you to create this app.

Here, at Creative27, we wanted to build a social app the focuses on encouraging people to spend more time connecting in real-life and less time on their phones.

What features do you hope to roll out to your app in the future?

introducing the product across Android mobile, the Web and Android & iOS tablet. We will be introducing a number of features that focus on streamlining the process of allowing users to better plan their future interactions, we'll be introducing an activity bases recommendation engine and much more. Stay Tuned...

What has been the most rewarding aspect of the creation of this app?

The most rewarding aspect of the creation of the District27 app was seeing the product come to life from a mere idea to a fully launched award winning product that's been ranked number 66 in UAE.

Do you have any recommendations or advice for others wanting to create a mobile app?

Have an app Idea? Don't be afraid to pursue your dream. Keep in mind that behind every great app, there's an amazing team. To ensure that you do not waste your money, your challenge is finding that team that will help you bring to market an app with a strong competitive edge of competition. Here, at Creative27, we'll help bring your idea to life, just as we've done on behalf of many startups that ended up winning multiple awards.

How did you decide which platforms to release your app on and do you plan on releasing your app to other platforms?

We've decided to introduce the District27 app on the iPhone first as iOS has less individual devices as opposed to Android and work out all the quality assurance issues before introducing the product on to other platforms. For version 2 of the product, which we are currently working on, we are planning to introduce the product on Android, and the Web.

How is your app different than the rest of the market? Which unique need does it fill?

The District27 app is different than other social apps as each feature and functionality it presents from the On-boarding process to Browsing friendship opportunities, to Messaging and Calling features focuses on building authentic relationships.

What is the coolest or most innovative feature of your app?

One of the coolest features is the user journey of reaching out to people around you that share similar interests. Once you've gone through the On-boarding process, you are presented with a map of your surroundings populated with people that share similar interests. We've built the process of reaching out to these people in its simplest form, the goal being to meet and connect.

What surprised you most in your journey to create this app?

The biggest surprise was that we started with an idea that evolved significantly as we went through Research & Discovery, User Experience and Interface Design to building Interactive Prototypes and Engineering the app.

Which other mobile apps or technology have inspired you?

At Creative27, as part of Defining the Product we take each of our clients to a Research & Discovery Phase, where we conduct a surface level assessment of competitor's digital products. When working on the District27 app, we've analyzed Snapchat, Foursquare and Happn.

You can view District27 here