Noema

Project Overview

I read and listen to a lot of stuff. Books, audiobooks, podcasts. And I kept losing the parts that actually mattered. The quote that stuck, the idea I wanted to think about later. Notes ended up everywhere. Voice memos. Random apps. Nothing I could find again when I needed it.

So I built Noema for myself. Capture something fast. Come back to it later. That's it. I didn't want another bloated note app with graphs and plugins. I wanted something I'd actually open tomorrow.

A personal app for saving ideas from books and audiobooks, and actually coming back to them later.

Industry

Personal

Services

UX/UI Design
Web Development
Product Strategy
Mobile Development

Key Deliverables

Responsive Design
Custom Development
User Experience Improvements

Platform Type

Mobile Application

Tech Stack

TypeScript
Next.js
React Native
Expo

The Challenge

Every PKM app I tried wanted me to build a system before I could save a thought. Categories, links, templates, onboarding. I just wanted to write down what I heard on a podcast and find it again next month.

The real challenge wasn't coding features. It was saying no to features. Every extra screen is one more reason to not bother opening the app.

Approach

I built around my own habits. Phone for capturing in the moment, on the couch, on a commute, after a good chapter. Web for browsing and reviewing what I've saved.

I kept the scope tight on purpose. If something didn't help me capture, organize lightly, or revisit old notes, it didn't go in. That was the hardest call I made on the whole project.

The Solution

You can save a highlight from a book, a thought from a podcast, or a quick note without thinking about where it belongs. Tags and sources are there if you want them, but nothing forces you to set up a system first.

The revisit part matters as much as capture. Old notes come back in a daily review. Swipe through cards, not dig through folders. I built it so saved ideas don't just sit there dying.

Key Challenges

capture had to be fast enough that I'd use it every single day, not just when I was feeling organized
turning messy notes into something I could actually search later, without making me categorize everything upfront
keeping web and mobile useful without one of them feeling like an afterthought
resisting the urge to add features that would turn this into another Notion clone

The Outcome

I use it daily. That's the whole proof for me. If I stop opening it, the project failed.

It's for people who consume a lot and hate when a good idea disappears by next week.

Context

I built Noema because I had the problem. I'm still the main user. It's not trying to replace Notion or Obsidian. It's trying to make sure you don't forget the one paragraph from that book that actually changed how you think.

The hardest part wasn't TypeScript. It was keeping it small enough that I'd still want to use it six months later.