The prologue? It’s a classic "how did I end up here" story. A referral chain straight out of a sitcom—friend of a friend of someone’s cousin—leads me to Ms. Maki (not her real name, but let’s pretend it sounds cool). She wanted a literature platform for Ethiopian storytellers, one that didn’t involve Google Docs or emotional trauma. She didn’t just want another blog. No, she wanted seamless, intentional, and—most importantly—non-psychologically damaging.

Here’s the twist: There was NOTHING like it. Ethiopian writers were stuck on WhatsApp, Google Docs, and—let’s be honest—shared trauma. Existing platforms? Either too corporate (Docs), too "teen-fic" (Wattpad), or just too much (Medium). I had to build it from scratch. No pressure, right?

Cue MVP (Minimal Viable Panic). Solo mission, tight deadline, zero sleep. But to keep me from spiraling into full madness, I kept Ms. Maki in the loop with constant feedback and chaotic energy. Two weeks of prototyping sprints later, I had a "minimum lovable product"—fast, functional, and, shockingly, enjoyable to use.

Of course, I had to “borrow” the best parts from existing platforms. I analyzed Medium, Wattpad, and Google Docs like a mad scientist. Here’s what I learned:

Medium: Great UI, but the algorithm is a drama queen.

Wattpad: Awesome community, but good luck finding anything.

Google Docs: Real-time collaboration, but the vibe screams “creative block.”

We took the good, ditched the bad, and added a dash of flavor to make it ours. And guess what? Writers actually wanted Google Docs-level collaboration with real writing tools. Revolutionary, I know.

But then, the plot twist: halfway through the project, Ms. Maki casually drops that she’s not even the real client—she’s just a contractor. Surprise! For the last two weeks, I’ve been designing a platform for a client… who wasn’t the real client.

What did I learn? Good design solves chaos, great design survives it. Also, never trust anyone who says "I’m just a contractor" halfway through the project. Prototypes are your lifeboat when you’re sailing the ship and building it. Oh, and collaborative platforms? They don’t have to look like they were designed in a dark alley during a caffeine-fueled binge.

In the end, I wrapped it up with usability wins and zero sleep. The platform? Clean, collaborative, unapologetically local. The moral of the story: when your design brief starts with “this might be insane,” I’m already sketching.

Built a storytelling platform in two weeks because Google Docs was turning into a creative battlefield. Designed fast, tested smart, and didn’t lose my mind (just most of my sleep).