Field Note 001 · iOS · Product Design
Minimal Quote
A reading app for wisdom, not a quote feed.
Problem
Every quote app is an ad-supported infinite scroll optimized for engagement, not reflection — the opposite of what a quote is actually supposed to do for you.
Idea
Build something closer to a commonplace book than a feed: hand-curated, mood-aware, no ads, no algorithm deciding what shows up next.
Role
Sole designer and builder.
Process
Curated 3,300+ entries across 1,000+ authors and 50+ categories before writing a line of the mood-matching feature — the curation was the product; the app just had to get out of its way.
Outcome
Shipped on iOS. Real users building their own collections and coming back to curate by mood daily.
Lessons
Curation is slower than scraping an API for content, but it's the entire reason the product doesn't feel like everything else in the category.