A personal knowledge app designed, built, and shipped by a solo designer, with a little help from AI.
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Why
Like many readers, I tend to highlight passages that feel meaningful at the time. But once the book is done, those quotes often get lost in screenshots, Kindle clippings, or scattered notes. I wanted a better way to not just save what I read, but to actually return to it later, when it might matter more.
Cite came from that personal need. I didn’t want another storage app. I wanted a space where highlights felt alive. Something that would nudge me to reflect, revisit, and reconnect with the ideas that shaped me.
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How
I planned, designed, and built Cite on my own using SwiftUI. But I didn’t do it alone. AI was a core part of the process. I used it to write Swift code, troubleshoot bugs, test UI logic, and generate ideas for UX and microcopy. It helped me move quickly and fill the gaps where I wasn’t confident with code.
My role was everything else. I mapped the product architecture, defined how features should work, and shaped every part of the interface and flow. I made the decisions and AI helped me execute them.
One thing that made this project different from how I usually work: I barely used Figma. I only designed three screens — Home, Review, and Profile — as high-level references. Normally I would flesh out complete flows, edge cases, and handoff-ready designs. But this time, I leaned into code as a design tool. Most of the UI was shaped directly in SwiftUI, which gave me more flexibility to experiment and refine as I built.
Core Tools I Used
Figma & ChatGPT: Helped explore UX ideas and generate implementation strategies
XCode + Swift UI: Dev environment and building the entire app UI
AlexSidebar: My co-pilot for this project, helped me every step of the way
Supabase: Handles authentication, database, and syncing
OpenAI: Powers highlight summarization and AskCite
OpenLibrary API: Provides book data and cover images
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Features
Multi-format input
Highlights can be captured via camera, voice, or manual typing.
Organized library
Highlights are connected to books using OpenLibrary metadata, with tags for filtering.
Revisit flow
A swipe-based interface inspired by flashcards and Tinder. Keep, Snooze, or Hide a quote.
Ask Cite
A conversational AI layer that helps you explore meaning, draw insights, or summarize your highlights.
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Cite is now in the App Store. It’s the most complete thing I’ve ever built solo. It taught me how to use AI as a creative partner, not just a tool. And more importantly, it reminded me that great products don’t always need big teams. Just clarity, curiosity, and a bit of momentum.
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