I recently spent several days collaborating with Claude (Anthropic's Sonnet 4.5) to design and prototype a productivity app called Waypoint. The experience showed me what's possible when you combine clear vision with AI-powered development tools.
The Concept
Waypoint is a task management app built around military-inspired navigation principles. The core idea is simple: cut through the noise of endless todo lists and force real prioritization through a structured daily system. It combines streak mechanics, achievement progression, and smart planning features to keep users accountable and motivated.
The Process
What struck me was how collaborative the design process became. I'd describe what I wanted, Claude would ask clarifying questions, suggest alternatives, and explain trade-offs. We iterated on everything from notification timing and behavior to the exact flow of adding and managing tasks across multiple days.
Claude helped me think through edge cases I wouldn't have considered: What happens when someone breaks their streak? How should data conflicts resolve across devices? Should certain actions trigger confirmations or just happen? These conversations shaped a more robust design.
The visual aesthetic came together through reference images I shared - a fitness app with bold typography, neon accents, and 3D card effects. Claude translated this into a complete design system with dark mode, lime green highlights, and military/navigation theming throughout.
By the end, I had:
- Complete designs for multiple screens and user flows
- Interactive HTML prototypes I could test in a browser
- Detailed specifications for every feature and interaction
- A clear roadmap for building the real app
Learning Through Nostr
I'm planning to release Waypoint on the Nostr protocol while I learn the development process. Building on Nostr will allow me to:
- Understand the protocol deeply through hands-on experience with NIPs, relays, and decentralized architecture
- Work with a community that values privacy, simplicity, and user ownership
- Deploy and iterate quickly while mastering the technical fundamentals
This approach lets me ship something real while building my development skills, rather than spending months learning in isolation before releasing anything.
What I Learned
AI as design partner: Claude wasn't just generating code - it was helping me think through problems, offering perspectives I hadn't considered, and pushing back when my ideas had issues.
Prototype early: Having interactive prototypes completely changed how I thought about the app. Seeing and clicking through the screens revealed UX issues that weren't obvious in conversation.
Iteration beats perfection: We refined features multiple times as we discovered edge cases and thought through user scenarios. The willingness to revisit decisions led to better outcomes.
Start small, stay focused: The temptation was to add features. Claude helped me resist - "let's nail the core experience first, add complexity later if needed."
What's Next
I'm moving forward with Waypoint on Nostr as my primary development path. It's an opportunity to build something meaningful while learning a protocol I believe in, and to get it into users' hands quickly for real feedback.
The future of app development isn't just AI writing code for you - it's AI helping you think through problems, make better decisions, and turn vague ideas into concrete plans. That's what this experience showed me.