Piñata
Mobile app
iOS + Android
Freemium subscription
A dedicated birthday reminder app for people who find calendars too noisy. Piñata reminds you at 8:00am, then lets you text, call, or plan a gift in one tap.
Birthdays, without the noise
The problem
Birthdays get tracked in the wrong places. Calendars are noisy, social reminders are unreliable, and notes are easy to forget. The result is the same: you remember too late, if at all.
- Birthdays get buried in tools built for other things
- Reminders often come when it's already day-of
- There is no dedicated place that makes it easy to plan and take action
The solution
Piñata is a dedicated space for birthdays only. It reminds you at 8:00am and turns that reminder into quick actions.
Core experience
- Add birthdays fast (manual or import)
- See what's next in list and calendar views
- Get reminded early (day of, 1, 3, or 7 days before)
- Text, call, or start gift shopping in one tap
My role
Founder and Principal Product Designer (solo)
What I owned
- Product concept and MVP scope
- UX, UI, and interaction design
- Development (built with Claude Code and Codex)
- Cross-platform shipping (iOS + Android)
- Freemium model and Piñata Pro subscription
- Store setup: metadata, screenshots, privacy, and release process
Key decisions and tradeoffs
Android battery optimization
Focused the Months view on birthdays only, trading calendar flexibility for a dedicated view.
Added an optional Birthday Hub (horoscope, trivia, stats) while keeping the core reminder flow simple.
Added daily horoscopes as a reason to open the app even when no birthdays are coming up, trading strict focus for stronger return visits.
Prioritized reliable 8:00am Android reminders, even when it required extra setup (battery and exact alarms).
How it came together
This idea lived in my head for years. The difference this time was the tooling, so I used Piñata to learn what AI-assisted building looks like with real constraints.
I skipped wireframes and worked directly in real builds: map a flow, implement it, hit edge cases, refine, repeat.
Cross-platform assumptions broke constantly. iOS and Android needed different handling, especially for notifications and key UI components, so I built platform-specific fixes while keeping the experience consistent.
Outcome
Piñata shipped on iOS and Android with a freemium model and an optional Pro subscription. It's intentionally minimal, fast to set up, and built to help people show up for the people they care about.
What people are saying
"New app, but already feels polished. Everything's simple and clear. Just what I want from a birthday reminder. Looking forward to using it more over time. I just love the little donkey logo too. So precious."
Paul"This is one of those apps you'll love to just have on your phone for when you need it. Beautifully designed."
Bill"Just started using this and I already love how simple and well designed it is. Adding birthdays takes seconds and everything feels super clean. Awesome job."
Makayla"I've only been using this app for a little while but I already love it. It makes it super easy to keep track of birthdays. It's simple, clean, and just works. Honestly feels like one of those apps that quietly makes your life better."
Michael"I've tried dozens of birthday apps and this one is by far the best I've ever used. Upgraded to the paid version and it's absolutely worth it."
Eddie"What a joy to use Piñata Birthday Reminder. From the moment I opened the app, everything felt intuitive. I added birthdays in seconds, and the attention to usability and design really stands out."
DaniellaOther works
