Prototyping web apps and services with Replit

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Swiss Innovation Academy

Hi lovely human 👋

Here is the overview of all the new Service Design content I've created in the last few days:

1 Service Design Principle draft: Do the “edge of the mattress check”
2 Service Design Q&A about prototyping:
- Time: How long does it take to create a working app with Replit AI?
- AI coding tips: What are tips when using AI code generators like Replit or Lovable to create a prototype of an app?
1 new draft of Life Principle for my kid: Be strong. Not agressive
1 Backstage blog article: The Return of the Workshop Planner

As a bonus you'll also find at the end links to 3 positive news from elsewhere to end on a high note.

Greetings from Basel, Switzerland,

Daniele 🧔🏻‍♂️

p.s. As always, you'll find more details below 👇
for when you have the time to read this newsletter.

Service Design Principles series

I'm writing the fifth book in the series Service Design Principles, where I explore simple tips, tricks and provocations that can help us make services a little bit less shitty for the people who use them and the planet that hosts them.

An illustration of a person sleeping deeply in her bed

Do the “edge of the mattress check”

When you have a hard time going out of bed or doing some work, it’s often the signal of something deeper.

It can mean we are afraid to start the day or do the work (1). It can also mean that we are uncomfortable with what we have to do for deeper reasons.

From time to time, it can be interesting to do a bit of a reflection time and ask ourselves:

“Is there something in my life or work that makes me want to stay in bed instead of jumping out of it to get shit done?”

And if yes:

“Is it because it’s hard but beneficial or because it doesn’t fit with my values and therefore makes me uncomfortable?”

Action question

When would be a good time to do such a “edge of the mattress check”? And what would be a good frequency to do it: each month, each semester, each year?

Footnote

(1) Sometimes being afraid of something is the sign that it is something that could have a good impact, but that needs lots of efforts from our side or that asks us to step out of our comfort zone.

The inspiration

We discussed this principle with Ecological Mattress lover and designer Joel Hügli. Watch that part of the interview here.

Share feedback

Service Design Q&A

I'm slowly building a library of answers to the most common questions about Service Design. Here are the new ones:

Four screenshots of a workshop planner app built with Replit

How long does it take to create a working app with Replit AI?

In short: In about a half day of work (4-6 hours) you can create an app that is usable by others with a few lovely features (sign in, sign out, folders, settings, different views of the same data, etc.)

Read the full Q&A

An illustration of a person that connects a digital brain to a computer with a cable

What are tips when using AI code generators like Replit or Lovable to create a prototype of an app?

In short:

Start by creating the Sign-in and Sign-up flows with user storage.
Ask the AI to create one feature at a time
Watch a movie while the AI works for you
When debugging doesn't work rebuild the feature from scratch
Google "React Components" to give the AI a base for specific features

Read the full Q&A

Tiny Life Principles for my son

I'm working on a children book series where I'll share life lessons I've learned that I think can be of help to him. At this stage, I'm collecting some rough notes. Here is the latest one:

Be strong. Not agressive

Strength vs. Aggression

There are moments in life where you need to defend yourself, your position, or your ideas. That's normal. But often, people confuse strength with aggressivity. They think showing aggression will make others understand their strong opinions or respect their boundaries.

Calm Firmness

I believe it's possible to be strong without being aggressive. You can show with deep calm where the limit is and where the boundary stands. Staying strong means putting the line in the sand firmly but without hostility.

Written with AI help:
This tiny article is based on an audio note I transcribed and re-wrote using Audiopen.

Backstage Blog

I love to explain how I'm building educational content. I'm trying to be as transparent as possible so that it might motivate others to create such content too. These are the latest blog posts I've written:

An illustration of a person with a tool in one of her hands next to a screen showing a bug

The Return of the Workshop Planner

In this longer article I share a bit of my no-code journey and how tools like Lovable and Replit that are your AI coding buddies made it possible to create a workable prototype of my dream Workshop Planner app.

Read post

Positive news from elsewhere

I’m an optimist and as there is so much bad news out there at the moment, I want at my scale to rebalance things by sharing also some positive news for service owners and creators.

A Māori mountain was granted legal rights: Mount Taranaki — now known as Taranaki Maunga, its Māori name – was granted human rights on Thursday. They will be used to uphold the mountain’s health and wellbeing, including protecting wildlife that flourishes there. (Positive News)
Millionaires want to be taxed more: 370 millionaires from 22 countries signed a letter calling on our political leaders to tackle the cost of extreme wealth by taxing the super-rich. (The Guardian)
How Warsaw became the unlikely vegan capital of Europe: A city associated with sausage and herring is now a haven for plant-based foods. (The Guardian)

If you want more positive news make sure to checkout the website positive.news that offers more in depth articles.