Wishlist App

4 min read · Mobile Design · Visual Design · Interaction Design · Product Strategy · Prototyping

Giftodactyl started as a way to showcase some mobile and product design work that I can actually share publicly, but now I’m building it from scratch to tackle the constant chaos of managing gift-giving for my family. 

We’re big on gifts, but over the years, our systems have gone from basic text lists to convoluted spreadsheets and encrypted Signal groups just to avoid spoiling surprises. Despite all that effort, we still end up with duplicates, lost requests, and constant miscommunication.

At first, our gift lists were basic texts, which quickly led to duplicates and confusion. Google Sheets seemed promising, but broken links, vanishing cells, and endless frustration made it a nightmare. Privacy also helped push us from Sheets to Airtable and then into Signal groups, each system increasingly complex and ironically less useful. We really just need a flexible app that can manage the lists without sacrificing privacy or sanity.

Giftodactyl is designed to handle anything from ultra-detailed online product requests (links, images, prices, done!) to vague (set of nice King Size Sheets... you pick), offline, or intangible (movie night with the whole family) items. 

My approach combines the ease of messaging apps with the structure of shopping platforms, making it feel natural for everyone, even the most tech-avoidant relatives, while still handling nuanced privacy and group dynamics.

Gift conversations in my family are nonstop, which means I'm constantly soaking up real-world insights. The ideal Giftodactyl experience needs to be as effortless as chatting but flexible enough for everyone's quirks and preferences.

Giftodactyl currently lives in wireframes and strategic docs, with higher fidelity prototypes and an MVP in the works. Originally, it was supposed to be a tidy little portfolio piece to show off my design and product chops, but it quickly became obvious that it could be something more, potentially even market-ready.

I'm actively exploring unique angles and features that set Giftodactyl apart from existing solutions, balancing dead-simple usability, practical privacy, and real-world functionality. Visuals aren't ready for primetime yet, but I'm more than happy to share my early design direction and sketches in a one-on-one setting.

As of late April 2025, I'm designing the system of interactions and sketching out wireframes in Balsamiq, with Figma on deck for high-fidelity prototyping. Google Workspace is helping me organize strategy and product planning, and I'm using ChatGPT and Perplexity to help flesh out details. An eventual MVP built using FlutterFlow is also in the game plan.