The idea
There are words everyone has seen a hundred times but never quite trusted themselves to say out loud. Hermès. Givenchy. Miele. Oaxaca. Ennui. Pho. The ones that make you hesitate right before you need them.
That observation and some initial experimentation with Claude Code became Cyraknow — a pronunciation app now live on the App Store. I came up with the idea, named it, and drove every aspect of the product: strategy, UX, brand, content, and copy. I had no coding background. I used Claude as my technical partner to build it.
That observation and some initial experimentation with Claude Code became Cyraknow — a pronunciation app now live on the App Store. I came up with the idea, named it, and drove every aspect of the product: strategy, UX, brand, content, and copy. I had no coding background. I used Claude as my technical partner to build it.
Product strategy, UX & content design
I defined the requirements, drew the wireframes, and mapped the user experience before any code was written. The core features were straightforward:
• Accurate audio pronunciation
• Plain-English phonetic spellings
• Clean category structure
• Free with ads, premium to remove them and unlock saved words
I made the call to simplify and ship rather than wait for a bigger product. Several categories — names, biblical terms, others — were held back deliberately. Cyraknow never fakes a pronunciation with generic text-to-speech. Every word is a real, verified recording, and names and biblical terms are exactly where reliable source audio is hardest to guarantee. They'll come in a future release when they can meet the same standard as everything else.
• Accurate audio pronunciation
• Plain-English phonetic spellings
• Clean category structure
• Free with ads, premium to remove them and unlock saved words
I made the call to simplify and ship rather than wait for a bigger product. Several categories — names, biblical terms, others — were held back deliberately. Cyraknow never fakes a pronunciation with generic text-to-speech. Every word is a real, verified recording, and names and biblical terms are exactly where reliable source audio is hardest to guarantee. They'll come in a future release when they can meet the same standard as everything else.
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Visual design & copywriting
I directed all the creative work and made every call along the way. A visual designer executed the identity under my direction. I wrote everything.
• Naming and brand strategy
• App icon, wordmark, and color system
• UI design direction and motion
• All copy: in-app, App Store listing, marketing site, and supporting docs
The mark is built around a speech-bubble C. Direct, ownable, and exactly right for what the product does.
For audio, I cloned my own voice — I have a background in college radio and voiceover — rather than offering a generic voice picker. It gives the app a sound that's distinctly its own. Every pronunciation runs through a verification step before it ever reaches a user: converted to my voice, automatically transcribed, checked against the source word. If it doesn't match, it's rejected
• Naming and brand strategy
• App icon, wordmark, and color system
• UI design direction and motion
• All copy: in-app, App Store listing, marketing site, and supporting docs
The mark is built around a speech-bubble C. Direct, ownable, and exactly right for what the product does.
For audio, I cloned my own voice — I have a background in college radio and voiceover — rather than offering a generic voice picker. It gives the app a sound that's distinctly its own. Every pronunciation runs through a verification step before it ever reaches a user: converted to my voice, automatically transcribed, checked against the source word. If it doesn't match, it's rejected
Brand Identity
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Building with AI
Claude Code handled code generation, technical research, and document drafting. I handled everything else — and that meant being an active, critical partner, not just feeding it prompts.
There was a lot of back and forth, including:
• Accurate audio pronunciation
• Code that didn't match the design
• UX flows that needed rethinking
• Content that wasn't landing right
• The tool going deep on the wrong solution
Knowing when to stop it and reset was just as important as knowing what to ask for. You need a strong point of view and the eye to know when something isn't right.
There was a lot of back and forth, including:
• Accurate audio pronunciation
• Code that didn't match the design
• UX flows that needed rethinking
• Content that wasn't landing right
• The tool going deep on the wrong solution
Knowing when to stop it and reset was just as important as knowing what to ask for. You need a strong point of view and the eye to know when something isn't right.
Claude Code conversation
Apple App Store approval, marketing & launch
I wrote and coded the marketing website — content design, copy, and front-end build — alongside the app launch. The launch runs in two phases: an organic stage focused on downloads, ratings, and reviews through social and community channels, followed by a paid phase covering PR, LinkedIn, Reddit, and targeted digital advertising.
The app has been live a few weeks. Too early for real conclusions, but the early signal is good. Android is next if the traction holds, and the features I held back — more categories, multi-voice, community submissions — come in after that.
The app has been live a few weeks. Too early for real conclusions, but the early signal is good. Android is next if the traction holds, and the features I held back — more categories, multi-voice, community submissions — come in after that.
App Store Product Page