Inspiration
I got inspired when I discovered the Junk Journaling world. When I first came across this niche, I realized it had great potential, with plenty of “wow effects” possible and many marketing strategies to experiment with. I also love building apps because it lets me express my creativity, so bringing this same creative energy to the users was a real pleasure for me.
What it does
The app allow users create their own "Journals". They can add pages to these journals, then edit and customize them in many different ways. Users can design layouts, make photo collages, create planners, notebooks, drawings, and more. The goal of the app is to help users avoid blank page syndrome by offering plenty of tools and possibilities. It also includes a Collection page with ready-to-use journal and page templates, so users don’t have to always start from scratch.
How we built it
I built the app as a solo developer, handling everything from conception and design to implementation and publication. I use Flutter to develop the app, combined with Firebase for Authentication and database. I also use a CloudFlare R2 bucket for storing all the stickers available in the app (over 12000 images). And of course, the RevenueCat SDK for in-apps purchases.
Challenges we ran into
I ran into multiple challenges while building this app. The first one was the 3D journal effect I absolutely wanted to have in the app. I had to go low-level into Flutter components to be able to create this very precise behavior. The second challenge was handling the large sticker library. I had always used Firebase Cloud Storage for images in my apps, but with such a massive library, the bandwidth costs would have been extremely high. That’s when I discovered CloudFlare R2, and I wrote Python scripts to upload and register all the images so I could easily use them in the app.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
I am really proud of the UI/UX of this app. My main goal was to make it simple and enjoyable for users to create beautiful designs, and I believe I achieved that, so that's what I am the most proud of. I also really like the little mascots I designed, which make the app more playful and fun to use. I am also really proud of the amount of customization possibilities and tools the app offers.
What we learned
As for every app I built, I learned a lot by building it. As mentioned in the Challenges, section, I learned some low-level Flutter techniques, as well as finding efficient ways of storing large image libraries in the web without exploding the bill.
What's next for JuJo - Junk Journal
There are tons of new features and improvements still to add on the app. For now, my main focus will be on marketing, to gather as much feedback and as many reviews as possible. This will help me prioritize the roadmap and decide which features to develop first. I’m also continuously working on improvements and bug fixes, as well as adding new journal and page templates on a daily basis.
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