Introducing Vervid, the “YouTube” of Vertical Videos

In 2015, John and Daniel Proksch-Whaley envisioned, designed and shipped Vervid, featured as the #2 “Best New App” in over 30 countries on the Apple App Store. Vervid aimed to change the way we experience video on our phones, catering exclusively to creating and preserving videos shot with our phones held vertically.

Brand

Apple’s curation team applauded Vervid for its branding, saying, “you know who you are and you’re not mistaken for anyone else. Your branding’s on point!”

 

Why Vertical Video?

While traditional media is generally bound by cinematic aspect ratios intended for theater and TV, our generation has evolved with our devices and now shoots a ton of content with our phones held vertically. That content ends up in places that were designed with horizontal content at heart (YouTube), or on Snapchat, where our memories are treated as disposable.

 

The “Disposable” Medium

To date, videos shot vertically have been considered a medium for disposable messaging. Before Vervid, no single platform had been created to preserve the casual moments we’ve captured while holding our phones upright. We’ve only had these screens in our pockets for 8 short years, which means we’re literally in the infancy of mobile, so this trend is only going to increase. Now is the time to start archiving content the way our generation shoots — Vertically.

 

 

Customizable Calls-to-Action

Users can choose from a number of calls-to-action, including “Subscribe,” “Buy Now,” “Sign Up,” or “Download on the App Store.” The latter is particularly interesting, given the countless vertically-oriented apps out there with gorgeous onboarding videos just waiting to be discovered.

 

 

One-Handed Editing Tools Make Editing as Easy as Texting

Vervid’s editing tools were designed around a one-handed experience, because that’s how we use our phones (especially when we’re on-the-go.) Designed from scratch for vertical, Vervid’s editing tools remain as robust as any landscape mobile video editor on the market.

 

 

Finding a Need

We see tremendous opportunity to innovate in a space that’s only beginning to get noticed. Countless video platforms continue to emerge in the horizontal and square space, yet nothing’s really been created to encourage creative editing experiences with a sense of permanence in the vertical video space.

 

 

Featured in Over 30 Countries

At launch, Vervid was featured in the Apple App Store as the #2 “Best New App in over 30 countries.

 

National Press Coverage

Vervid received mentions in the New York Times, the LA Times, Slate Magazine, Mashable, and TechCrunch TV. (Watch the interview below!)

 

TechCrunch TV
TechCrunch owned the exclusive for Vervid’s launch. Watch John’s on-camera interview, filmed in San Francisco at the TechCrunch Headquarters in July, 2015. At launch, Vervid was featured in the Apple App Store as the #2 “Best New App in over 30 countries.