PuffZero
A cross-platform mobile app that helps users track and quit vaping. Designed with a collaborating designer, built end-to-end, and published to the Apple App Store.
Problem
Vaping has become a widespread habit, especially among young adults, but most quitting tools are either overly clinical or designed for cigarette smokers. There was a gap for a modern, approachable app that specifically targets vaping habits.
I wanted to build something that was genuinely useful — not just a timer, but a tool that helps users understand their patterns, stay motivated, and see real progress.
My role
- Sole developer — designed the architecture, wrote all code, handled deployment
- Collaborated with a designer on the UI, iterating based on product needs and technical constraints
- Managed the full App Store submission and review process
- Handled API integrations, local data persistence, and cross-platform compatibility
Key technical decisions
Health and habit data is sensitive. Keeping data on-device by default was both a privacy-first decision and a way to simplify the architecture — no backend to build or maintain for v1.
Rather than fully speccing the UI upfront, we iterated in short cycles — designer would propose a direction, I'd build it, and we'd adjust based on what felt right in-hand. This kept the product grounded.
Challenges
- App Store review process — Navigating Apple's guidelines for the first time required multiple submission iterations. Each rejection was a learning moment in understanding platform requirements.
- Cross-platform consistency — Ensuring the UI felt native on both iOS and Android meant handling platform-specific quirks in navigation, notifications, and layout.
What I learned
This was my first time taking an app from idea to production. The biggest lesson was that shipping is a skill on its own — writing code is maybe 60% of the work. The rest is design decisions, testing on real devices, navigating store requirements, and making hard calls about scope.
I also learned the value of working with a designer early. Having a collaborator who challenged my assumptions about the UI made the final product significantly better than what I would have built alone.