I'm Going to Build the Damn App Myself

I’ve run out of excuses. Everything has changed thanks to AI. And rather than being scared, I actually feel empowered (okay, a little scared too). But let’s not dwell on the spooky, speculative future we all seem to be stumbling toward. The point is: the tools and methods now exist for someone like me – a non-developer – to build a real, functioning app.

I already have it scoped. It’s in my portfolio. The project was accepted into the Enterprise Ireland New Frontiers programme. Hundreds of hours of research are done. There's a working proof of concept. Fundamentally, it’s all there. The only thing left is to actually piece the damn thing together.

If I had to name the reason I haven’t built it yet, or why I stepped back from New Frontiers, it would simply be burnout.

The project I’m talking about is Bento: a receipt-to-recipes and nutritional tracking automation app. It was my obsession for six months. That deep dive helped me finish my MSc with first-class honours.

It takes a certain kind of idea for me to truly lose myself in it. I usually need to fall into the user category to fully empathise—to feel the need for the thing. To see how it would improve my own life.

That same energy was there when I helped create the Kabata product. I wanted to use it so badly, and that passion made the creative work flow effortlessly.

But Bento is different. Bento is mine. And I won’t feel right until I see it working – in real time, in my hand.

The project is already mapped out. ChatGPT is going to help me generate the Swift code. All I really need now is my Figma designs, a few paid tools, and the discipline to stick with it.

🔧 Tools I’m Using to Build Bento (as a Designer Who’s Learning to Code):

Here’s the current stack I’ll be using to build the proof of concept:

• Figma – For designing and prototyping the user interface

• Xcode (Mac) – Apple's free development environment for iOS apps

• Swift / SwiftUI – The programming language and framework I’ll be using to build the UI

• VisionKit (iOS) – To scan receipt text using Apple’s built-in OCR

• ChatGPT – AI pair-programmer for Swift code, troubleshooting, and app logic

• OpenFoodFacts API – A free public database for nutritional data on food items

• TestFlight – To share early beta versions with friends and testers

• Apple Developer Account – Required to test apps on device and eventually submit to the App Store (€99/year)

That’s it. No fancy backend yet. No machine learning models. Just enough tools to build something real and usable.

Maybe it won’t work. Maybe it’ll get too complex. But this is where I want to grow as a product designer. This is the challenge. And the learning will be worth it, no matter the outcome.

And if it does work? If I manage to pull it off…?

That will be a kind of energy I’ve never felt before. To know that this kind of power is now within reach, for me, as a designer..!?

Honestly, I can’t imagine it leading to anything but good things.