iOS & macOS

Brukas

Solo design + build · 2025–2026

A focus app built around a conversational coach that helps you pick one thing, then gets out of the way.

A quiet, opinionated focus app for people who do their best work under constraint. Built solo across strategy, product, design, AI, and GTM.

Status: In TestFlight (request-only) • Platform: iOS & macOS (SwiftUI) • Year: 2025–2026

Context

How & Why

The moment before work

The hardest part of focused work isn't the work. It's the moment right before, when you know you should start but can't pick where.

Why most tools make it worse

Projects, lists, calendars, streaks. More to configure means more to avoid. The setup becomes the procrastination.

What Brukas chose instead

One question at a time. One thing to do. A timer. Then silence. Explicitly not a task manager, habit tracker, or wellness app.

The Work

  • Conversational entry. One question at a time, 1–2 sentences per turn. The AI voice is brief and direct: barista, not therapist.
  • Three timer modes. Pomodoro 30, Power Hour 60, open Stopwatch. After the timer, the AI steps back.
  • Design system. Warm cream background, single terracotta accent, Space Mono headings, Plus Jakarta Sans body, Phosphor icons only. Shadows globally disabled. No glassmorphism, no gradient text, no SF Symbols.
  • Craft discipline. Two structured polish passes on the conversational entry screen (April 2026): token-only colors and spacing, 4/8/12/16/20/24/32 spatial grid, honest "what was NOT fixed" documentation in each pass.
Most of the design work was about what to remove.

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