Information management is not Information capture
Existing tools solve information management exceptionally well. I can create one page inside another and keep on doing that as many times as we want. This is great if I want to work with a large set of information that I can keep referring to. But I needed something that is designed around information capture. Something that is as quick to create as it is to delete.
Everything is complex
Most note-taking applications support collaboration, databases, AI assistants, rich formatting and entire productivity workflows. However, most of my daily notes did not require any of those capabilities. I was spending more time than needed inside these apps just for few quick notes. Life is complex enough, a sticky notes app shouldn't follow the same complex path.
Notes between tasks
A reminder to follow up with a client. A quick idea that appeared during work. A small checklist for a task I was currently focused on. These notes were often short-lived but important enough that I needed them to remain visible and accessible throughout the day without disrupting my current flow.
Performance is important
Due to the complexity of most of the apps, either the note app gets minimized when switching to another active application or it starts eating up more of the system resources. And I cannot open multiple notes without sacrificing my system performance.
From idea to product
When CueNow was first conceived, it was simply an attempt to solve a personal workflow problem. For me, it was the repeated friction of opening full note-taking applications just to save a reminder, a quick idea or a temporary task. Besides, opening and closing full notes applications takes some time. While physical sticky notes works totally fine, but when I'm on the move and don't have access to it, a digital sticky note does the job.
Designing for speed
One of the primary goals of CueNow was reducing friction between having a thought and saving it. Creating a note needed to feel immediate. Opening the application, navigating through menus or managing complex workflows would defeat the purpose of the product. I designed the interface to focus on clarity rather than feature density by reducing distractions and simplifying interactions. Since speed was important, why not speed up the design process as well? I used Google Stitch to view multiple iterations of my rough sketches for both the application window and the sticky note.
Designing for visibility
Many notes lose their value once they disappear behind other windows. Because CueNow was designed around temporary notes, just like a physical sticky note, visibility became an important part of the experience. I decided to make notes stay visible above other windows when needed. This way, users can keep reminders, ideas and active checklists available while continuing their work. And since these sticky notes are always visible on top of other windows, I had to make sure they looked pleasing as well.
A Menu Bar first experience
The menu bar became a central part of the CueNow experience. Instead of treating the application as something users needed to actively open and manage, I wanted it to feel constantly available yet unobtrusive. Integrating the product into the menu bar allowed notes to remain only a click away while staying out of the user’s workspace.
Building features around simplicity
As development progressed, several features emerged from real-world usage and testing. Such as checklists! I introduced checklists to give a sense of accomplishments to the users when they complete a work while maintaining the simplicity. I also introduced AI-generated titles to reduce organisational effort. Instead of manually naming every note, the application can generate contextual titles based on the content of the note itself. Since, this is a completely free and local application, this Ai-generated title only works with Apple Intelligence.
From design to development
Building the application required translating design decisions into functional behaviour while maintaining the simplicity that defined the product. Features that appeared straightforward from a design perspective often introduced technical challenges during implementation. Window management, note persistence, menu bar behaviour and interaction performance all required careful consideration to ensure the final experience felt reliable and intuitive. But in the end, they worked perfectly.
Launching the product
As CueNow matured, the project expanded beyond the application itself. I designed and built a dedicated website to communicate the product, support downloads and provide a home for future updates. Alongside the website, I established a release workflow and public changelog system to support future versions of the product. This helped transform CueNow from a personal project into a product that could continue evolving after launch.
Successful launch of my first product
CueNow successfully evolved from an initial concept into a fully functional and publicly available macOS application. Alongside the desktop app, the project also resulted in a complete product ecosystem including a dedicated marketing website, release notes platform, product branding and a structured update workflow for future releases.
While CueNow began as a tool for my own workflow, it ultimately became a project about product ownership. It challenged me to think beyond interface design and consider every part of the product lifecycle, including development, distribution, communication and long-term maintenance.
The experience reinforced the value of simplicity and demonstrated how small ideas can evolve into complete products when given the opportunity to grow.
You can try out the application from Cuenow.app