Case study · Own product · AI
One designer, one brand: an app and a community, run with AI
Horostories is my own watch brand: a Turkish Instagram account for watch enthusiasts with around 8,000 followers, and an iOS app that helps collectors track, wear and look after their watches. I run both alone, with AI in every part of the work: content, design and code.
- Role
- Founder: product, design, development, content
- Platforms
- iOS, Instagram
- Stack
- SwiftUI, iCloud, AI coding tools
- Languages
- English, Turkish
Interactive prototype
Tap the screen as you would on a phone: tabs, watches, Pick one for me. A tap that misses shows where you can tap.
Real screens · Horostories 2.1
What I did
- Run the Instagram account: weekly news digests, carousels and launch coverage, in Turkish
- Run the whole social media side on my own, from A to Z: Instagram content planning, growth strategy, ad budgets, audience targeting and post design
- Designed the iOS app end to end, from information architecture to the App Store
- Built the app myself in SwiftUI with AI coding tools
- Use AI across research, writing, design and code, and own every final check
The challenge
A content brand and an app compete for the same few hours. Posts have to go out every week, in Turkish, with every reference, price and calibre right. The app had to go from idea to the App Store with no team: no one to hand designs to, no one to build them, no editor to check the posts.
Approach and design decisions
Social media management
I run @horostories0, a Turkish Instagram account for watch enthusiasts, end to end: the weekly content calendar, research, writing, carousel design on fixed templates and publishing. The formats are a weekly news digest, deep dives in carousel form and launch coverage such as Watches and Wonders 2026, from Rolex and Tudor to Patek Philippe and Cartier. The account has grown to around 8,000 followers, and it is also where I learn what collectors care about: what they buy, what they wear and what they want to keep track of.
AI in the content workflow
AI handles the heavy lifting of a weekly schedule: gathering and summarising the news, first drafts of Turkish copy and carousel layouts built on fixed templates. I check every reference, price and calibre and rewrite the voice before anything is posted. AI drafts, I edit.
A calm tool for collectors
The app answers the questions collectors keep asking: which watch do I actually wear, what does it cost per wear, when is it due a service? Collection, daily wear, service history, wishlist and statistics each have their own clear section. Specs such as reference, diameter, thickness, lug width, water resistance and movement are entered once and reused everywhere, from statistics to the yearly Wrist Recap.
Designed and built with AI
I designed the app and built it in SwiftUI with AI coding tools, from the data model to iCloud sync. Version 1.0 shipped on 28 April 2026. Four weeks later, version 2.1 added a refreshed statistics view, a wear calendar, timelines on watch pages and a built-in brand and model catalogue that fills in specs automatically.
Private by default
No account and no tracking: data stays in the user's own iCloud, encrypted, and the App Store privacy label reads Data Not Collected. CSV export and import keep a collection portable.
App and account feed each other
Free, unlimited Instagram sharing templates let collectors post their collection and wear stats, which brings the app to the same audience the account speaks to. Premium was simplified to a single plan to keep the decision easy.
How I used AI
AI is part of every layer of Horostories: research and Turkish copy for the account, and design, SwiftUI code and release work for the app. The rule is the same everywhere: AI makes the first version fast, and I own the decisions, the checks and the final result.
The outcome
A live iOS app in English and Turkish, a community of around 8,000 watch enthusiasts, and a working answer to how one designer can run research, design, development and content with AI.