MemoFlow v2 Retrospective

Building a “Disposable Planner” Because Notion Felt Too Heavy

MemoFlow(v.2.0.0)

Recently, I renewed my personal memo project, MemoFlow, from v1 to v2. The goal of this renewal was clear: to move beyond a private productivity tool and turn it into a portfolio-grade application, while also gaining real experience in shipping a production app to the Google Play Store.

This post is a retrospective on why I started this project, why it stalled, and why I decided to rebuild it properly.

1. Why I Started This Project: A Need for “Lightness”

The motivation behind MemoFlow was surprisingly simple. It came from two frustrations I felt while using Notion.

Data ownership

“Am I really comfortable with all my private notes living permanently on someone else’s server?”

Overengineering

“Why does writing something as small as a Post-it note require such a heavy and complex tool?”

What I needed was not a knowledge management system, but something closer to scribbling on a sticky note — quick, disposable, and low-commitment.

Analog notes are annoying to manage. Digital tools tend to be overkill.

So I arrived at a straightforward conclusion: build the smallest tool I actually want to use.

The idea aligned naturally with the concept of offline-first tools, which have gained renewed attention recently. In hindsight, it seems many people were craving the same thing.

The early version of MemoFlow focused strictly on functionality. UI and visual polish were intentionally minimal. At the same time, the project served as a kind of educational reference — something junior frontend developers could study without being overwhelmed by unnecessary architectural complexity.

2. v1: Experiments — and Why the Project Was Abandoned

MemoFlow v1 was inspired by the experience of moving sticky notes on a Kanban board. It supported serverless data import/export and Google Drive sync for backups. Technically, it was also an exploration project: I experimented with PWA, Electron, and React Native + Expo.

Despite these efforts, the project eventually stalled.

The reason was simple: uncertainty about product value.

With tools like Obsidian emerging for deep note-taking, MemoFlow’s position felt ambiguous. More importantly, the UI failed to meet my own minimum quality bar. It didn’t feel like something worth publishing, and it didn’t seem commercially viable either.

As a personal tool, it worked well enough — so the project quietly went dormant.

v1

3. v2 Renewal: Portfolio First, Trust Over Profit

My perspective changed recently.

When considering remote and freelance opportunities, I realized that “I shipped a real app to a store” is far more convincing than any side project README. I needed a polished, end-to-end product that demonstrated execution, not just ideas.

Profit was no longer the goal. Completeness and credibility were.

UI/UX Overhaul: The Return of the “Tetris” Concept

While v1 leaned toward an analog aesthetic, v2 revives an old, previously unused concept: Tetris.

Originally, this idea existed only as a visual motif. In v2, it became the foundation of a clean, modern block-based UI — simple, structured, and visually consistent.

To improve real-world usability, I also formalized four distinct memo types:

• Memo Short, highly disposable notes — like sticky notes
• Todo Immediate action items
• Note Structured, list-based records
• Draft Long-form thinking and writing, with a character counter to reinforce a “writing mode”

A Discarded Idea: Gamification

Early v2 designs included a gamified system: completing notes would stack blocks, clear lines, and award scores and rankings.

After testing, the conclusion was clear.

Gamification increases cognitive load in tools meant for thinking.

All game mechanics were removed. Only the visual inspiration survived.

v2

4. Re-Evaluating the Tech Stack

The v2 renewal was also a process of deliberately slimming down the stack, based on years of trial and error.

Electron → PWA Unless deep OS-level control is required, Electron is simply too heavy. PWA offered a cleaner and more economical solution.

React Native → Capacitor For a web-view-centric app with minimal native requirements, Capacitor was lighter, simpler, and easier to maintain.

Tailwind CSS 4.0 Beyond runtime performance benefits, Tailwind’s ecosystem — especially in the AI era — dramatically improved development speed and consistency.

The guiding principle was simple: A lightweight app should be built with lightweight tools.

5. Monetization and the Road Ahead: Trust Over Revenue

I considered ads, but placing banners on a memo app’s main screen would seriously damage the user experience — and realistically, the revenue wouldn’t justify it.

If MemoFlow is ever monetized, it would be through optional convenience features, such as:

• Google Drive sync
• Multi-device synchronization

For now, sync is intentionally disabled in v2, allowing the project to focus on local data stability and UX quality.

The short-term plan is clear: ship to Google Play, and build a solid track record of reliable apps. While MemoFlow starts on Android, an iOS expansion is under serious consideration if the project proves its value.

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6. Closing Thoughts

Technically, the migration itself was not the hard part.

The real challenge was deciding:

What should be removed — and what is worth refining?

Finding the balance between a strong portfolio piece and a tool I genuinely want to use every day was the core of MemoFlow v2.

If this app helps even a small number of people who feel that Notion is too heavy and paper notes are too messy, then it has done its job.

🔗 Links

• GitHub: https://github.com/yoonjonglyu/memo
• Project: MemoFlow
• Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.yoonjongryu.memo