Company Overview

Marvel (Marvel App) was founded in 2014 by Murat Colyaran, Charles Driver, and David Jickish. Headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with an R&D team in Bosnia. Marvel is a lightweight, easy-to-use design prototyping and user testing platform designed for product managers, designers, and entrepreneurs. It enables teams to quickly turn design ideas into interactive prototypes and conduct usability testing. Marvel is known for its simplicity—supporting imports from Sketch, Photoshop, and Figma, as well as creating wireframe prototypes directly in the browser.

Product Matrix

  • Marvel Prototyping: Core prototyping tool supporting design file imports and in-browser wireframe creation with drag-and-drop interaction flows and transition animations
  • Marvel Handoff: Design handoff feature that auto-generates design specs, color codes, typography guidelines, and asset exports for developers
  • Marvel User Testing: User testing capability that records screen and audio, sets test tasks, collects feedback, and analyzes usability issues
  • Marvel Team Management: Team collaboration and project management with role-based permissions, review invitations, and version management

Core Strengths

Easy to Use: No software installation required—create and edit prototypes directly in the browser with minimal learning curve
Rapid Prototyping: Go from design import to interactive prototype in minutes, ideal for agile iteration
Built-in User Testing: Integrated usability testing allows inviting users to participate immediately after prototype creation, with screen recording feedback
Cross-Platform: Web-based, no client download needed, suitable for quick demos and remote collaboration

Key Milestones

  • 2014: Founded in London by Murat Colyaran, Charles Driver, and David Jickish
  • 2015: Launched User Testing feature, becoming the first platform to combine prototyping and user testing
  • 2016: Released Marvel Handoff for developer collaboration and design handoff
  • 2018: Surpassed 2 million users, establishing brand recognition in the design prototyping space
  • 2020: Remote collaboration demand surged during the pandemic; user testing features gained increased adoption
  • 2023+: Continued platform optimization, focusing on the niche of lightweight prototyping and user testing

Market Position

Marvel occupies a unique niche in the design prototyping space, competing with:

  • Figma: Dominant UI/UX design tool with built-in prototyping features that compete with Marvel
  • Sketch: Mac-native UI design tool (requires third-party plugins for prototyping)
  • Adobe XD: Adobe's design prototyping tool, discontinued after the failed Figma acquisition
  • InVision: Former industry leader, now exited independent operations
  • Axure RP: Professional prototyping tool for complex logic and conditional interactions
  • Balsamiq Wireframes: Rapid low-fidelity wireframing tool focused on quick sketching