About

This site collects projects I have built and blog posts that dig into the why and how.

My work spans physical products, software, and publishing. Some projects began as attempts to solve a specific problem, while others started as experiments and continued longer than expected.

One of the earliest examples was App Sketchbook, a physical sketchbook I designed and produced for mobile designers. The project began in 2009 when the iPhone App Store was still new and design guidance was limited. I designed the product, set up ordering and payments, handled fulfillment, and handled support. The sketchbook eventually expanded into a small product line and remained available for more than a decade before closing in 2020 as design workflows shifted away from paper.

Alongside independent work like App Sketchbook, I have held product leadership roles at companies including Mailchimp and Square. Those experiences introduced different constraints, particularly around scale, coordination, and long-term maintenance, and continues to influence how I approach my product management.

More recently, I've been working on Clixbee, an iOS app that analyzes photos on device to help identify the strongest image from a set. Still marinating is Art of Beatmaking, a publishing topic that covers practical beat making techniques.

I tend to move between creative and technical work rather than separating them. In the early 2000s, I would have been called a "unicorn" but with the rise of AI tools like OpenAI's Codex and Claude Code, I'm settling into a role that looks more like a conductor.

Occasionally this work leads to collaboration with small teams or local businesses on focused product or systems problems. I'm open to limited scope engagements and welcome any chat that might start from the work shown here. Reach out at hello @ stephenmartin.me