Case study / Solo product, brand, UX, native engineering, AI

A home for the Frenchie parent in me.

FRNCHY is a native community and care app for French bulldog parents. I designed and built every part of it myself.

Illustrated Frenchies Luna, a brindle, and Athena, a fawn in a grey hoodie
  • Community
  • Care education
  • Care calendar
  • Reviewed vet records
  • Context-aware Ask AI
  • Preferred Breeders
  • Heat safety
  • Behavior observations
  • Illustrated portraits
  • Private messaging
  • Native iOS app
  • Coming soon to the App Store
Brand film / 0:10

Your Frenchie has a family.
Now they have a community.

Coming soon to the App Store.

Plays muted. Sound is optional and on request.
Luna story artworkLuna
Athena story artworkAthena
Park story artworkPark day
01 / Why

I am in this community.

I love the French bulldog community, and I am part of it. Athena and Luna are my two Frenchie kids, and they are the reason FRNCHY exists.

I recognized the people around me: they join groups, post and share, and obsess over their dogs exactly as I do. The in-app community, sharing, connection, and private messaging bring those behaviors into one place.

That revealed the product opportunity: the joy of sharing lives in one place, while everyday care lives somewhere else. I wanted a home for both—the silly moments we cannot stop posting and the practical information we need before a walk or a vet visit.

The problem / Love needs breed-specific knowledge

Loving a Frenchie does not mean knowing every nuance of their care. Their flat-faced anatomy can make breathing and regulating body temperature difficult; heat and overexertion can become life-threatening emergencies. Many are poor swimmers, and a pool or open water can pose a drowning risk an owner may not anticipate.

Everyday care has its own learning curve: allergies, dietary needs, skin-fold cleaning, and knowing when a change in breathing needs veterinary attention. Owners also need clear guidance on ethical breeding and what to look for in a responsible breeder. These are not small details. They shape a dog's comfort, safety, and quality of life.

FRNCHY is about more than bringing a community together. I designed it to pair that connection with breed-specific education and practical care tools, helping owners make informed decisions and recognize when to seek veterinary help—not replace it. The goal is simple: help people give these dogs the home, love, and care they need to thrive.

The brand has a childlike charm because Frenchies are sweet, cute, funny, silly and mischievous, and they share a lot with human children. The charm stops where health information starts: that content stays clear and professional.

Playful on the surface. Careful where it counts.
02 / Opportunity

A massive community. An underserved need.

French Bulldogs were the most registered breed in the US for four consecutive years, from 2022 through 2025. AKC registrations capture only part of that community—not every Frenchie living in an American home.

Owners invest thousands of dollars a year in their dogs, yet breed-specific care is fragmented. They navigate scattered records, generic guidance, social feeds and commercial listings.

Those tools separate care from community, information from context, and everyday responsibilities from the joy of ownership. I designed FRNCHY to bring them together: helping owners give their dogs the care they need, while giving ethical, health-first breeders a place in the community.

The $15.6B and $4.4B figures are broader industry context, not FRNCHY's addressable market, and are not meant to be added together.

03 / Scope

Breed-specific utility.

I owned product strategy, branding, interface design, native engineering and AI integration. This is a working native product—not a click-through prototype handed to someone else to build.

Connected care and health journal

Breed-specific education, customizable care reminders, a calendar, reviewed vet records, and Ask AI grounded in each Frenchie's saved care context.

Heat safety

Local weather context with a manual fallback. Awareness, not a diagnosis or guarantee. Seek a veterinarian for distress.

Cue observations

Upload video and read visible behavior observations. Interpretation of cues, not translation.

Personalized portraits

A profile photo and details become a downloadable illustration.

04 / Personality in motion

Athena barks.
Luna snorts.

The welcome experience introduces the personalities behind the product. Expressive illustrations, gentle motion and the familiar sounds of a Frenchie make the brand feel like a family, not a generic pet utility.

The same personality continues through rounded type, soft colors and illustrated details. For care and weather, I pair that warmth with direct language and clear next steps. Delight should help someone feel at home; it should never obscure what matters.

Rendered welcome visualization using original FRNCHY artwork. Not a native screen capture.

05 / Workflows

From everyday joy
to everyday care.

Weather context before the walk

Short snouts make Frenchies overheat easily, and heatstroke can be fatal. This flow gives context, not a diagnosis.

Interface visualizations reconstructed from published UI definitions, with illustrative content. These are not native screenshots or screen recordings.
FRNCHY

Heat Safety Alert

A little planning makes walks safer
FRNCHY outdoor care illustration
Check weather near me
Allow location to fill in your area and current temperature.
Location names: © OpenStreetMap contributors
Location
Search by city if location isn’t available
Find my city
or check a temperature yourself
Temperature in °F
e.g. 78
Check
Before heading outside
Check the current temperature and bring fresh water. On warm days, choose shade and watch their breathing.
A note on short snouts
Frenchies can overheat quickly. Never leave a dog in a parked car. If they seem unwell, contact a veterinarian.
06 / Community

Share the silly stuff.

Community is the reason FRNCHY exists: a Frenchie Family feed with stories, a composer for a new moment, and private messages between families. Four views, shown together.

FRNCHY

Frenchie Family

Find families
Stories · 3
L
Park day
The Lindqvist household3
May 9
Photo featuring Park day
Park day with the crew. Everybody came home tired and muddy.
478
O
Luna
The Okonkwo family2
May 14
Photo featuring Luna
Snort practice, take nine. She is committed to the bit.
243
Community tip
Keep fresh water available during playtime. Frenchies can overheat quickly in warm weather.
Frenchie FamilyTap a story to open it as a card, then close it.
FRNCHY

Frenchie Family

Find families
Stories · 3
L
Park day
The Lindqvist household3
May 9
Photo featuring Park day
Park day with the crew. Everybody came home tired and muddy.
478
O
Luna
The Okonkwo family2
May 14
Photo featuring Luna
Snort practice, take nine. She is committed to the bit.
243
Community tip
Keep fresh water available during playtime. Frenchies can overheat quickly in warm weather.
Luna story artwork
Featuring Luna
Snort practice, take nine. She is committed to the bit.
Comments · 3
Story card
FRNCHY

Frenchie Family

Find families
A new moment
Who is this about?
Your story
What did your Frenchie do today?
Stories · 3
Community tip
Keep fresh water available during playtime. Frenchies can overheat quickly in warm weather.
A new momentPick who it is about and a sample photo. Nothing is posted from this page.

Messages

A little space for Frenchie families to connect.
New message
Message centerOpen a conversation, then go back. Messages here are private between your families.

Rendered reconstructions of FRNCHY’s native screens using illustrative content and original artwork. Not native screen captures or recordings.

07 / Ethical breeding

A place for health-first breeders.

Preferred Breeders is a by-application partnership about transparency: health testing, vet care and placement practices, reviewed privately by people. The listing is a starting point for questions, not a seal of approval.

Portfolio demonstration. Breeders shown are fictional samples with reserved .example contacts, not real partners.
1 / 7
Screen state · Directory and rules

Preferred Breeders directory with SAMPLE listings, the not-a-guarantee notice, apply card, and an expandable rules checklist. Profile and Apply buttons navigate to those stages.

Faithful reconstructions of the published app with illustrative content. Not native captures.
FRNCHY · FRENCHIE FAMILIES, BETTER INFORMED

Preferred Breeders

Approved listings, presented as a starting point for informed conversations.
FRNCHY approval is not a veterinary endorsement, AKC verification, or a guarantee of health or practices. Ask for original records and verify claims independently.
Illustrative samples. Fictional examples for learning only. They are not real FRNCHY partners, connected accounts, or contact destinations.
Approved partners
Lilac Lane FrenchiesSAMPLE
Illustrative profile · Pacific Northwest
A sample family profile centered on thoughtful matching, ongoing support and open conversations about Frenchie health.
Health conversation starter
Ask how they discuss breathing, skin folds and family health history.
Belle & Biscuit HouseSAMPLE
Illustrative profile · Great Lakes
A fictional example of a small home setting where prospective families can learn about daily care and the dogs’ routines.
Health conversation starter
Ask to see original veterinary records and understand what each record covers.
Become a FRNCHY Preferred Breeder
Only separately approved partners can publish puppy availability and litter updates. Applications are private, and submitting one does not grant approval.
08 / Connected care

Care that remembers for you.

Plans, reminders, vet records and questions live per dog and connect to one another. It is an organizer and an education layer: it never replaces a veterinarian and never sets a medication schedule.

Portfolio demonstration. Sample dogs, clinic and answer. Nothing is sent to an account; edits stay in this browser tab while you explore.
1 / 8
Screen state · Per-dog care plan

Choose a dog, tick presets, expand one to customize first date, interval and end date. Nothing starts until Save. Prevention is a review reminder, never a dosing schedule.

Faithful reconstructions of the published app with illustrative content. Not native captures.
FRNCHY

Health Journal

Their little details, all together
A gentle care rhythm
Choose the reminders that suit each Frenchie. Nothing starts until you save. Prevention is a review only—not a medication schedule.
Check that prevention is current. This is a review reminder, not a dosing schedule. Set medication timing only from your vet and the specific product instructions.
FRNCHY offers general care recommendations, not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Confirm care and medication schedules with your veterinarian. For breathing distress, collapse, overheating, or other urgent symptoms, contact an emergency vet immediately.
October 2026
SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
Repeating reminders appear as calendar occurrences; no extra records are created.
09 / Brand

Sweet, rounded, warm.

The palette comes straight from the published code. Nunito in regular, semibold, bold and heavy keeps everything soft and legible.

Cream#F9EFE6
Peach#FFDCC5
Apricot#FFB878
Coral#D88E74
Lilac#E9D9F4
Cocoa#5C3A21
Danger#A85038
Regular Semi Bold Heavy
Vest artwork
Vest
Harness artwork
Harness
Wipes artwork
Wipes
Bowl artwork
Bowl
Weather artwork
Weather
Ornaments artwork
Ornaments
10 / Engineering

Native, with AI behind an API.

I connected the native experience to persistent data and API-mediated AI. Supabase authentication and PostgreSQL data services support signed-in families, community content, messages and care entries. A generated client and React Query hooks connect the screens to purpose-specific AI endpoints.

The interesting engineering work is not just calling a model. It is handling photo and video selection, pending requests, useful error states, account-bound data, location permissions and stale weather readings—and presenting the result in language a Frenchie parent can act on.

  • Native appReact Native + Expo SDK 57
  • LanguagesTypeScript / JavaScript
  • NavigationExpo Router
  • Auth and databaseSupabase / PostgreSQL
  • Server stateReact Query + generated client
  • Photo and videoexpo-image-picker
  • Weather and locationexpo-location / Open-Meteo
  • Soundexpo-audio
Native clientTypeScript and JavaScript. Supabase auth and session handling, data services, messaging that refreshes in the client.
Generated API hooksTyped contracts shared between screens and requests.
/api/frenchie/interpretVideo in, visible-cue observations out.
/api/frenchie/avatarPhoto and details in, illustration out.
11 / Future

Where it could grow.

These are business possibilities I have considered, not live commerce or verified results.

Possibility

Social sharing

Portraits and moments designed to travel beyond the app.

Possibility

Partnerships

Breed-aware brands and care professionals.

Possibility

A shop

Branded goods, informed by the gear artwork already in the brand.

12 / Takeaway

What this demonstrates.

Product strategy rooted in lived community knowledge. A distinct brand carried into native UI. Connected care that keeps routines, reviewed records, and questions in context. A Preferred Breeder pathway that gives health-first practices visibility while keeping approval and posting permissions explicit. Responsible framing of health and AI features. Real native engineering with a typed client and clear data separation. All of it by one person, from idea to an app arriving soon on the App Store.