After about 20 years as a UX Designer, I started feeling this eager to actually make something. Not a mock-up or a wireframe. The real product. 3 years later, my first app is live on the Play and App stores, I am working on a PRO version and starting my first ever PR campaign to promote it and reach my users. From learning to code with Flutter and dart to how ChatGPT and Copilot helped me through that journey, here is a summary of how it went.

Don’t get me wrong: I love my job, and I love thinking about how interfaces, both physical and digital, can help solve complex problems. I love designing screens and user journeys, and testing them with real people. Visio, Omnigraffle, then Axure and Figma today: I have worked my journey through the different mock-up and wireframing tools with joy (except when it came to auto-layout in Figma, I have to say this was tedious at first. But now I can’t work without it!)

So, I still love my job after all those years, but I started having this itch to actually making a product. On my own.

Coding and testing Tribe Check on my smartphone: so rewarding!

That’s when I started my journey to becoming, as I recall telling Sarah, my coach: « a person able to turn the ideas in her head into a working mobile app. » And 3 years later, here I am, proud of being this person! Here is how my journey went for the last 3 years.

Becoming a person able to turn the ideas in her head into a working mobile app

Step 1: The spark

1 year

I have always been a creative engineering profile: trying to make things to solve problems, un-make other things to understand how they work, and come up with ideas and solutions. I think Covid in 2019 really created the place for me to experiment this side of my personality further, and turn it into something tangible. And it happened at a moment in my personal and professional development where I felt comfortable and had started to get involved in Tech for Good movements and groups.

I started with no-code, then low-code experiments. At first, I created a Facebook page, then a small quizz online game. Then I discovered Glide apps, and made an open-source PWA (Progressive Web App) called Trad-19 to help doctors and patients communicate over Covid-19 symptoms.

My very first web app with Glide apps: Trad-19, a visual symptom communciator

Step 2: Inception

8 months, after my regular work

For the next step to begin, I had to realize 2 things: that I liked making my products very much, and that I was able to learn to code. Of course my imposter syndrome was trying to get in the way at all times, but came a moment when I felt strong enough to silence it and start my journey to learn to code.

It took me a while to choose the right technology for me and the ideas that were in my head, but I finally selected Flutter, Google’s framework for mobile app hybrid development. To make apps with Flutter, I had to learn dart, the programming language, but also get familiar with concepts like state management and tools like VS Code. So at first there was a lot of learning, watching youtube videos and practicing simple tutorials like Google Flutter code labs.

One of Google Flutter Code Labs: the business card, a great case for practicing rows and columns and alignments

Step 3: Learning by doing

14 months, after my regular work

Then at some point, I felt both confident and bored enough with the generic material, and I started working on my first project, Tribe Check. The first steps, creating a page with content, creating a nav bar, changing the design, were very fast and rewarding. But learning by doing meant a lot of rework, to make sure my code was compliant with what I was learning. Navigation had to be redone using GetX, design assets and variables had to be centralized, etc. But there was nothing more rewarding and motivating than seing my own idea turn into a page, then a journey, then a full mobile app that I could test and take with me on my smartphone!

There was nothing more rewarding and motivating than seing my own idea turn into a page, then a journey, then a full mobile app that I could test.

This whole learning by doing was supported with regular conversations with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Copilot in VS Code. To be honest I could not have made it this far on my app-maker journey without these AI assistants. Here is how they helped:

• ChatGPT: challenge architecture, understand console logs, understand concepts and propose options. Also big on cheering me up when I was down.
• Copilot: auto-complete variable names and simple functions, propose variations of existing ideas

Coding everywhere I go: here in the train to work

Step 4: The last 20%

1 year

I really wasn’t expecting the last steps to be that tedious and time-consuming. They included:

• App security
• Play and App stores setting-up
• Legal aspect
• Beta tests process
• Cleaning up code
• Testing
• Testing
• Testing…

There were times when I was feeling discouraged: it is one thing to have a functioning app on your phone, but a totally different thing to making it downloadable by others!

It is one thing to have a functioning app on your phone, but a totally different thing to making it downloadable by others!

Such a relief when my app was finally ready for testing on iOS via Test Flight!

Step 5: Let’s talk about it!

3 months so far

Today Tribe Check is live on both stores (except for iOS in France, but still working on this paperwork.) The app has been installed on 115 devices, I have about 50 active users monthly, was in the daily top 20 when I launched on Product Hunt and will be presenting the PRO version at Geneva Digital Health Day in May.

A marketing and communication alumni, I thought communication would be the easy part. Spoiler alert: it is nothing but. Creating assets for social media publications, thinking of how and when best to reach my users, owning my product and becoming an ambassador for it is challenging for the shy person I naturally am. But I am doing my best and will get there!

Super proud Tribe Check made the top 20 daily launches on Product Hunt!

Conclusion

The process of becoming an app-maker has been challenging but highly motivating. I went through hard times and had to find a routine that worked for me, as a learner, and now as an ambassador. I can now proudly introduce myself as an « indie app maker » and I can’t describe how good this makes me feel. Do I regret it? Never. I cherish the hard times as much as the victories.

I can now proudly introduce myself as an indie app maker!

3 years later, and a few months early, I started working on my second app, Loopzzz, and the POC was already working after 3 days of experimenting, which conforted me with my decision, my ability and my technological choices.

Stay tuned for the next article on that journey: there is still so much to talk about!

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➡️ Download Tribe Check for iOS

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