A studio, not an agency
Why the studio exists
Most of what we build starts the same way: something should have existed, we went looking for it, and what we found was heavier than the problem it solved. A note app that wanted an account. A tracker that wanted a subscription before it would show a number. A tool with six features where one would do.
So we build the small version. Then we keep working on it until it feels finished rather than shipped.
Five rules we actually keep
One thing at a time
An app gets our attention until it's done, then it gets maintenance. We'd rather have a short list of things that work than a long list of things that mostly work.
Small on purpose
Fewer features is a design decision, not a stage we're passing through. When we say no to a request, it's usually because saying yes would make the app worse for everyone who didn't ask.
No dark patterns
No fake urgency, no buried cancel buttons, no notifications engineered to pull you back in. If an app of ours is worth opening, you'll open it.
Data stays where it belongs
We collect what an app needs to function and nothing else. Where something can work on your device, it works on your device. Details are in the privacy policy.
Built to be left alone
Our apps should still work if we go quiet for a month. That rules out some ideas, and we think that's the right trade.
Phones and browsers, nothing fashionable
We pick the platform based on where the problem actually lives.
Apps are free - within a limit
We don't run ads and we don't sell data. Those are the two things that would require us to work against the person using the app, so they're off the table. The paid apps always have a free tier.
We're not hiring and we're not taking client projects. If you've built something you think fits alongside our apps, or you want to talk about the work, that address is read by a person. For help with an app you're using, support is faster.