Blog
Notes on building calm household software.
Product thinking, engineering decisions and what we learn from the households testing KinHolo. Written as we go, including the parts that did not work.
Why we measure the mental load, and refuse to score it
The fair-load view is the most-discussed screen in KinHolo, and the one we rewrote most often. Here is how we ended up with something that shows a household the truth without turning chores into a leaderboard.
Designing for the connection you actually have
Offline is a state, not an error. What it took to make the app open instantly with no network round-trip.
What a shared household password really costs you
One login for the whole family looks convenient. It quietly removes roles, child protection and any real audit trail.
The out-of-stock problem nobody solved
A list that cannot handle an empty shelf is not finished. Suggested swaps, parked items, and telling the person who asked.
Two weeks of testing in Lagos and Berlin
The same app, two very different weeks. What changed in the design after we watched both.
One digest instead of forty notifications
Why KinHolo sends less than it could, and how quiet hours became a household setting rather than a personal one.
Shipping to a sub-100 dollar Android
Our performance budget, the fonts and assets it rules out, and what we gave up to keep the app light.
Nothing in this category yet.
One short letter a month.
What we shipped, what we learned, what is next. Nothing else, and one click to leave.