Building Mizuki taught me a few things I didn’t expect.

1. You don’t need to be an expert to start, but you do need to listen - I was unsure if pre-set templates would even be useful, especially without a psychology background. But putting them out and learning from real usage turned out to be more valuable than waiting to be “perfect.”

2. What you don’t say clearly becomes your biggest question - We didn’t highlight that Mizuki is completely offline and private. That became the most asked question. Lesson learned.

3. Journaling doesn’t have to be daily - I used to think journaling meant doing it every day. Now it feels more like wearing your comfort pyjamas, you don’t wear them every day, but when you do, it feels light and right.

4. Small details matter more than you think - We’re already working on improving typography and making the app feel more readable and warm.

5. You’re never building just for yourself - The moment people said they were using Mizuki, it clicked. A product may start from your problem, but it never stays just yours.

Still learning, still building 🌙

You can check out Mizuki on Peerlist here:

https://peerlist.io/vgdesign/project/mizuki--flexible-journal