Gift Genie

Gift Genie is a consumer iOS gifting application. The product concept includes keeping track of recipients and occasions, suggesting gifts by budget, and supporting physical greeting cards. The founder's need was broader than adding screens: he wanted a useful experience people would engage with, and a more affordable way to keep improving it.

Gift Genie was already on the App Store, but downloads and engagement were low. The application was unfinished, the founder was struggling with the user experience, and additional features were needed.

The goal: improve the shopping experience and make progress at an affordable cost through AI-powered development.

I served as Solutions Architect and AI Solutions Architect, working directly with the owner on business needs, the solution plan, and priorities. I structured the work with my engineers and kept the owner involved through regular progress updates and delivered outputs.

The intended experience starts with the people a user buys for, important dates, and shopping needs. A conversational assistant helps the user explore options and refine a recommendation. Our development focus was the context behind that exchange, so the assistant could behave more like a personal shopping helper.

Standardized chips, buttons, and headings address inconsistent styling. Cool colors carry structure and actions, while warm accents mark celebration. Accessibility targets include 44px tap areas, readable contrast, and support for larger text. Onboarding uses short steps and an email code.

The mobile architecture separates gifting, reminders, occasions, cards, and billing into modules. Flutter and Dart provide the app, Firebase and Cloud Functions support backend behavior, and RevenueCat handles subscription billing.

I worked directly with the founder on product direction and brought design, user experience, new capabilities, and AI backend work into one plan. The shift toward an agentic chat experience is the core of the transformation. The App Store listing belongs to the earlier application — the revised version has not launched yet.

The revised product remains in development. The work has established a new conversational direction and improvements to the application and AI backend.