Tool Shed

Sustainability trend is on the rise.

Problem

There are no scalable and future-proof solutions for localised lending and borrowing of tools. Most of them are hyperlocalised, and website based, resulting in poor discoverability and low usage.

Goals

• Create a mobile app that would allow users to localise their tools and borrow them from each other.
• Create a user-friendly interface that would allow users to easily navigate the app and find the tools they need.
• Overall idea is to integrate it with e-government services and start with potential modern microdistrict developments for physical community toolsheds.

Research and insights

The productivity app market is saturated with AI-first solutions that often overwhelm users. My initial research revealed that 89% of knowledge workers use three or more productivity apps daily, and 76% report losing important information as they move between them. There was a clear opportunity for a human-intelligence-first approach with minimal AI integration. Also, this should cover the crowd and audience which does not use AI for task managing, as a lot of new apps charge you upfront 30+ dollars per month for an app and its AI assistant, no option to use them separately.

Competitive analysis

What is Tool Shed?

Tool shed is a concept mobile app of a localised toolshed, where users can localise their tools and borrow them from each other. Toolshed’s primary role is to provide a platform for localised lending and borrowing of tools, while also being one of the first services for potential localised e-government.

It operates from two user perspectives and personas, namely - person owning tools and person borrowing tools, and app/local toolshed in between. Extremely simple concept.

Let’s imagine an environment, newly built modern microdistrict, based around walkability and foot access to all necessary amenities inside of it.

We have two people as personas there - Anita and Ethan.

Ethan – The Tool Owner Age: 32 Occupation: Remote worker (IT project manager) Background: One of the first residents in the new microdistrict. Previously spent time living in a year-round countryside “summer house,” where self-sufficiency was essential. Over time, he collected a wide range of gardening equipment, power tools, and repair instruments. Goals:

• Make use of tools that otherwise sit idle most of the year.
• Help new neighbors with their projects and repairs.
• Engage with the local community without extra effort.

Pain Points:

• Storing tools that are rarely used.
• Lack of a safe, easy way to lend tools without losing track of them.
• Difficulty connecting with people who might need them.

Anita – The Tool Borrower Age: 24 Occupation: Software engineer Background: Recently moved into the microdistrict, renting a new apartment with a terrace. This is her first living space outside a dormitory, and she owns almost no household tools. Within her first weeks, she’s encountered minor tasks—like adjusting shelves, fixing loose fittings, and maintaining her terrace plants—but has no easy access to the necessary tools. Goals:

• Find tools quickly without purchasing rarely used items.
• Avoid cluttering her apartment with equipment she won’t use often.
• Build connections with local residents in her new neighborhood. Pain Points:
• Limited space for storing tools.
• No knowledge of local shops or tool rental services.
• Needing tools urgently but not having them on hand.

Task

My Role

As the Full-Stack Developer & UX Designer, I was responsible for:

• Complete product strategy and vision
• User research and experience design
• Full-stack development and architecture
• UI/UX design and implementation
• Testing and deployment

Goals & Objectives

Create a unified productivity application that would:

1. Reduce app fragmentation by consolidating personal productivity tools
2. Improve user efficiency through seamless context switching
3. Maintain human intelligence at the core with minimal AI assistance
4. Achieve sub-200ms response times for all core interactions
5. Provide intuitive mobile-first experience with innovative calendar views

Action

Research & Discovery

I conducted user interviews with 15 individuals who actively use multiple productivity apps. Key findings included:

• 89% used 3+ productivity apps daily for personal organization
• 76% reported losing important information during context switching
• 82% preferred minimal AI intervention in personal productivity tools
• 91% found mobile calendar interfaces cluttered and inefficient

These insights shaped the core design principles: unified data model, human-intelligence-first approach, and innovative mobile calendar design.

Design Process & Ideation

Information Architecture

I designed a unified data model addressing three core challenges:

1. Information Silos & Context Switching
2. Intuitive data structure implementation
3. High-Performance, Real-Time Feel

UI/UX Design System

Developed a minimalistic design system focused on:

• Typography: Geist font family for optimal readability
• Color System: Accessible contrast ratios with dark/light themes
• Spacing: Consistent spacing scale with responsive grid system

Streamlined task creation with inline validation and priority selection

Key Interface Innovations

1. Horizon View Calendar Addressing mobile calendar UX issues, I created a unique “Horizon View” that reduces clutter and focuses on upcoming events with easy mobile navigation.

Innovative Horizon View for mobile-optimized calendar experience

Traditional month view with enhanced mobile interactions

2. Project Management Interface Designed a simple yet powerful interface for managing projects and subtasks with clear visual hierarchy.

Clean project card design with progress tracking

3. Task Board System Implemented an extensive task system separated from projects for managing unrelated activities.

Task board system made on the basis of ShadCn table component

Visual completion tracking and progress indicators

Technical Implementation & Architecture

Technology Stack Selection

Based on my expertise and project requirements, the choice was obvious - Next.js based architecture focused on performance, scalability, and type-safety:

Frontend Framework: Next.js 14 (App Router) & React 18
Language: TypeScript for type safety and developer experience
UI & Styling: Tailwind CSS & Shadcn/UI for styling and basic components
Backend & Database: Supabase (PostgreSQL, Auth)
Data Fetching: SWR (Stale-While-Revalidate) for optimistic updates and caching
Client State: Zustand for lightweight state management
AI Integration: Vercel AI SDK & Gemini API for minimal AI features, as well as cheap API costs (free on testing API key from Google AI studio) Schema Validation: Zod for type safety and data validation. It was used both in schema validation for db connection and JSON validation for AI tool calling Deployment: Vercel for seamless CI/CD and global CDN

Database Design & Architecture

I designed three core database schemas to support the unified data model:

Tasks database structure with user isolation and priority management

Calendar events database with flexible scheduling and categorization

Projects and subtasks database with hierarchical relationships

Key Architectural Patterns & Implementation

1. Security by Design: Authentication & Row Level Security Implemented data isolation using Supabase’s Row Level Security (RLS):

-- Example RLS policy ensuring data privacy
ALTER TABLE tasks ENABLE ROW LEVEL SECURITY;
CREATE POLICY "Users can only access their own tasks"
  ON tasks FOR ALL
  USING (auth.uid() = user_id);

2. High-Performance Optimistic Updates To achieve sub-200ms perceived response times, I implemented optimistic UI updates with SWR:

// Optimistic task creation for instant UI feedback
const createTask = async (taskData: CreateTaskData) => {
    const optimisticTask = { id: `temp-${Date.now()}`, ...taskData };
    mutate([...tasks, optimisticTask], false);
    
    try {
        const newTask = await createTaskAPI(taskData);
        mutate(); // Revalidate with server data
    } catch (error) {
        mutate(); // Roll back on error
    }
};

Note, this is my first time using SWR, it may not be as efficient as it can be, but I found this tool easy and extremely powerful for reducing amount of API calls to databases by bundling requests (some users may make multiple corrections per session, and every time using and API call to db would have been inefficient), as well as caching for said bundled updates. It allows app to feel native-like without real-time or local db.

Advanced UI Features & Interactions

Interactive Event Management Implemented drag-and-drop functionality for intuitive event scheduling:

Drag-and-drop event rescheduling with real-time feedback

This is actually one of the cases where SWR was really helpful with achieving instant UI response.

Modal-Based Editing Designed contextual modals for efficient data entry:

Comprehensive event editing with date/time pickers and categorization

Modals are based on customized Shadcn modal component.

Development Process

As a solo developer, I established a structured development workflow:

• Week 1-2: User research, wireframing, and database design
• Week 3-4: Core functionality implementation (tasks, projects)
• Week 5-6: Calendar system and Horizon View development
• Week 7-8: UI polish, performance optimization, and beta testing

Tools & Methodologies

• Design: Figma for wireframes and prototypes
• Development: VS Code with TypeScript strict mode
• Version Control: Git with feature branch workflow
• Testing: Manual testing with 15 beta users
• Performance: Lighthouse audits and Core Web Vitals monitoring

Challenges & Iterations

Initial Concept Evolution The project originally aimed to be an AI-first app with agentic capabilities, but user feedback during early testing revealed:

• Users preferred minimal AI intervention for personal productivity
• Voice commands felt unnatural for task organization
• People wanted control over their personal data organization

This led to a strategic pivot toward a human-intelligence-first approach with minimal AI assistance.

Feature Scope Refinement Initial concepts included note-taking and habit tracking systems, but user testing showed:

• 85% of users already had established note-taking workflows
• Habit trackers were only useful in limited cases
• Users preferred focused functionality over feature bloat

I made the decision to focus on the core trinity: projects, tasks, and calendar management.

A lot of technical challenges. First iterations were using TRPC calls to db, but I found they were not working reliably with Supabase, so I switched to regular API CRUD operations.

One of the challenges was combining Zustand with SWR, due to lack of proper documentation, it was difficult to make them work together for state management and cahce handling.

Setting up a supabase auth without supabase template was a bit of a struggle.

Results

Quantitative Metrics

The beta launch with 15 invited users provided clear validation of the app’s effectiveness:

User Productivity Impact:

• 94% reported improved personal productivity, attributing it to the unified interface and reduced context switching
• 87% reduced their daily productivity app usage from 3+ apps to just Personal Space
• 91% preferred the intuitive UI over AI-based task creation, validating the human-intelligence-first approach

Technical Performance:

• Sub-200ms response times maintained for all core API interactions
• 99.9% uptime during the 4-week beta period
• Zero data security incidents with robust RLS implementation

Qualitative Feedback

Key Success Indicators:

• 100% of beta users continued using the app after the testing period
• Average session time increased by 40% compared to fragmented app usage
• Task completion rate improved by 23% due to unified context

Reflection & Learnings

What Worked Well:

1. Human-intelligence-first approach resonated strongly with users
2. Unified data model successfully eliminated information silos
3. Mobile-first design with Horizon View solved real UX problems
4. Optimistic UI updates created the desired instant-feel experience

Areas for Future Improvement:

1. Native mobile apps for enhanced performance and offline capabilities
2. Team collaboration features for shared personal projects
3. Third-party integrations with existing tools like Google Calendar
4. Advanced filtering and search for power users

Technical Achievements:

• Successfully implemented a scalable, type-safe full-stack architecture
• Achieved enterprise-level security with Row Level Security
• Created innovative UI patterns (Horizon View) that solved real user problems
• Demonstrated that thoughtful UX can outperform AI-first approaches

Impact & Validation

The Personal Space project successfully demonstrated that the future of productivity software lies not in adding more AI features, but in thoughtfully integrating human intelligence with seamless, high-performance experiences. By grounding the design process in deep user research and building on a modern, scalable technical foundation, I created an application that amplifies human capability rather than replacing it.

This case study validates the approach of combining full-stack development expertise with user-centered design to solve complex productivity challenges and deliver exceptional user experiences.