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This post originally appeared on the InVision blog.

When we started InVision, we saw the beginnings of a trend that we felt would only grow in impact and significance: the screen was becoming the most important place in the world, forcing every company to create thoughtfully designed digital experiences that are both effective for their business and loved by the people they serve.

In the intervening 6 years, the InVision team and I have been inspired — and, frankly, blown away — by the power of design to transform not just business, but the entire world around us. We’ve seen firsthand how design can solve some of the world’s most difficult and exciting problems, from helping people make the most important financial decisions in their lives to reinventing a 100-year-old tech giant to advancing inspiring non-profit causes.

Alongside this growth in the practice of design, we’ve seen an explosion in the number of ways that technology can help teams create and deliver better digital experiences. Clearly we’re huge proponents of innovation in this area — not just because it’s what we do, but because we believe that good tools drive good design practices, which in turn drive better experiences and business results.

As a part of the design community, we believe it is our responsibility to help elevate and inspire other entrepreneurs and startups who are creating tools and resources that change the game for designers and their teams. It’s this belief that has inspired the partnerships, integrations, and acquisitions that we have made over the years — and more recently, it has inspired a new initiative that I am incredibly excited to share today: The Design Forward Fund by InVision. Over the coming months and years, we’ll be investing $5 million in the form of grants and equity to people and companies that are building:

• Innovative new design tools. Today’s designers play a more critical role than ever inside their organizations, and they deserve tools and technology that are equal to the challenges they’re tackling. We’re looking for the entrepreneurs who are creating tools to help close this gap and to power the next generation of design.
• Plugins, apps, and resources. We are excited to support and recognize talented creators who extend the tools that designers and their teams rely on. We will be particularly focused on the world-class apps and add-ons being developed for InVision Studio. Our goal is to create an extensive ecosystem intent on giving superpowers to the people designing tomorrow’s digital world.

In addition to making grants and equity investments, we’ll also offer select fund recipients unique partnership opportunities, including early product access and go-to-market support and exposure to our community of more than 3.5 million users around the globe.

I’ve spoken in the past about how important the digital product design community is and how anything meaningful that InVision has achieved is the result of listening and learning from fellow designers. That is why today is a particularly meaningful milestone for us. It’s our opportunity to give back and to champion the individuals who will help move us together into the future. I couldn’t be more excited to see what that future holds.

To apply, please visit www.invisionapp.com/design-forward-fund. For questions about the fund, please email [email protected].