Factory Design · 2026
Dictum
I'm an auditory learner and process things through words. Part of my morning routine is doing a voice memo to plan my day before I start. The problem was constant disconnections with Apple's built-in dictation, and Voice Memos is focused on saving audio, not text extraction. I didn't want to pay $20/month for a service like Whisper Flow to share my private ideas when the technology already exists on-device.
How it started
I discovered an open-source app called Handy and it inspired me to build my first iOS app — something I could launch in two weeks. The interaction is simple: a quick action on iPhone to record anything and send it to other services. But the execution was difficult. Getting all the timing right took real effort.
On-device, private
To make it fast and private, I use local models you download to the device. No servers, no cloud. Your words don't leave your phone.
Making it fun
I wanted a fun visualization while you record. Something that makes you want to use it.
The Mac app
With the confidence of launching the mobile app, I built the Mac version from the ground up. I built a ribbon that sits in the corner of your screen, influenced by the movie Her. You click it or hit a quick action and it's there. It's so fast it's changed my day-to-day.
This project let me play with things I don't normally get to at work. Motion design, spring physics, sound effects. It pushed me to level up in areas I'd been curious about but never had an excuse to dig into.
A stranger in Kansas City found Dictum on their own and bought the in-app purchase. That was the real goal: make a dollar on the internet from someone I've never met.