Why Build a New Note-Taking App Now
Notion, Obsidian, Apple Notes -- great note apps already exist. So why build another one? Here's the motivation behind Shutter.
There Are Enough Note Apps. Or So I Thought.
Notion exists. Obsidian exists. Apple Notes, Google Keep – they’re all there. Note-taking apps are more than covered. At least in terms of quantity.
And yet, I decided to build a new one. Why? In a word: speed. The kind of speed that none of them deliver.
The Cost of Doing Everything
Notion is a remarkable tool. Databases, kanban boards, wikis, document management. One app to rule them all.
But when a thought flashes through your mind, do you reach for Notion?
You open the app. The workspace loads. You pick a page. Finally, you can type. In those few seconds, half of what you wanted to write has already slipped away.
Obsidian is local-first and faster. But before you can write, there’s Vim mode to configure, plugins to set up, folder structures to design. You end up spending time learning the note app instead of using it. That’s backwards.
Being feature-rich isn’t a bad thing. But in the moment when you need to write right now or find that thing you wrote earlier, features get in the way.
Speed Is Not a Feature. It’s the Experience.
Speed isn’t about benchmark numbers.
It’s the app being open the moment you want to open it. It’s the cursor already blinking the moment you want to write. It’s the results already listed the moment you want to search.
That’s not “a fast feature.” That’s “an experience without waiting.”
What I want to build is a note app that brings the friction between thought and tool as close to zero as possible. A tool that keeps up with the speed of thinking. That’s the concept behind Shutter.
Design by Subtraction
Shutter does two things. Writing and finding.
No databases. No kanban boards. No real-time collaboration. In exchange, these two experiences will be faster and more satisfying than any other note app.
Adding features is easy. Deciding what to remove is far harder. But every feature you cut makes it faster. Every feature you cut makes it simpler.
Why Now
Honestly, there’s no grand reason for the timing.
I just couldn’t find a note app I wanted to use every day. I figured building my own would be faster than continuing to compromise with what’s out there. That’s it.
As motivations for building a product go, it doesn’t get more straightforward than that.
About Shutter
Shutter is currently in development. I’ll be sharing progress updates and design thinking on this blog.
“Speed for note-taking.” I’m betting everything on this single idea. I’d love for you to stick around and see where it goes.