Project overview
Truly Simple Tools
Eighteen apps, built and written by one person.
Why this catalog exists
The app market is crowded, and AI has made it cheap to produce one more tool. Most software responds by adding features. Truly Simple Tools goes the other way.
When usable software is easy to make, the harder part is giving people a reason to trust it. TST tries to earn that trust through clear names, plain language, one-time pricing, limited scope, and software I can support myself.
The reference point: beloved store brands
Think ALDI, Kirkland, Muji. Basics-focused, priced honestly, and trusted more than their positioning would predict because they’re consistent and candid about exactly what they are. TST aims not to be the cheapest, nor the flashiest, but the one you reach for because it reliably does what it needs to do and then gets out of the way.
The constraint is the product
I handle the brand, naming, interface writing, and development direction myself. That limits what I can sensibly build, which is useful. I avoid features that would be expensive to maintain or difficult to explain to my less technical friends. The apps are made for individuals with specific jobs to do, and every user has my contact information. That keeps the scope honest and the support relationship personal.
Position in practice
Four places where TST’s positioning is reinforced by concrete guidelines.
1. The voice
Truly Simple Tools should sound like a reliable neighborhood mechanic. It is conversational, plain-spoken, and competent. It explains what happened, what the app did, and what the user can do next. Then it stops. There are no exclamation points standing in for substance and no personality pasted on for effect.
Three rules behind the voice
These principles help me filter every line of copy and microcopy before a new app ships.
1
Minimalist
Focus on the task at hand and nothing else. Cut every word that isn’t fighting for its right to exist. Sentence case, active voice, no onboarding theater.
- Use
- Simple, universal verbs
- Avoid
- Jargon, puns, acronyms
2
Practical
Speak to the user’s goal and the time it saves them. Front-load the words that matter so a skim still works, and say exactly what happens next.
- Use
- Action verbs: “Save image,” “Convert to PDF”
- Avoid
- “Submit,” “Click here”
3
Confident
Emphasize ownership, stability, and privacy. Say it once, clearly, and stop talking. Cordial and direct, never needy or hyperbolic.
- Use
- Calm, declarative statements
- Avoid
- “Please rate us!”, emojis
Where the voice sits on NN/g’s four dimensions of tone
The same voice has to survive the App Store listing, the first-run screen, an error message, and a support reply. That consistency is what makes eighteen separate tools feel related.
This, but not that
Thinking in terms of failure modes that must be avoided also helps clarify, reinforce, and maintain the proper voice.
- Confident, but never arrogant.
- Plain-spoken, but never dumbed down.
- Helpful, but never overbearing.
- Simple, but never simplistic.
Voice in practice: error state
Rejected
“Oops! Something went wrong 😬 Don’t worry, our team is on it. Please try again later!”
Chosen
“That didn’t save. But don’t worry, your file is still here, unchanged. Try again, or check your connection if it keeps happening.”
Why: The rejected line performs reassurance without giving information. The mechanic doesn’t say “oops,” they tell you your car is fine and what to do next, or how to fix a genuine problem with the minimum of anxiety. The chosen line protects the user’s work, then names the likely cause and trusts them to act.
Rules for the small stuff
Voice guidelines are easy to follow in a headline and easier to forget in an empty state or error message. I wrote rules for those recurring components so the copy would stay direct and helpful in the less glamorous corners of the interface.
| Pattern | TST writes | Not |
|---|---|---|
| Destructive confirm | Delete project The button names the exact action, paired with a “Keep project” option, never an ambiguous “Cancel.” | Yes, delete, OK |
| Empty state | Create invoice Say what belongs here, then offer the specific first action by name. | Get started |
| Settings toggle | Enable dark mode Positive statements only, checking a box should never be a double negative. | Disable light mode |
| Inline error | Add an “@” to your email address. Name what to fix; the system failed, not the user. Never accuse, avoid using “You.” | Invalid input |
2. The naming system
The “Truly Simple” naming convention makes the tools easy to spot in a crowded list of competitors. It is flexible when a product needs room to compete on its own terms: Authorcise and Story Wiki perform better without the prefix. The tagline “Good basic apps” says what the catalog is aiming for without dressing it up.
3. Pricing as a promise
Every app is free to try, with a single, lifetime Pro unlock when it earns its keep. No subscriptions, no ads, no tracking, no analytics quietly phoning home. Pricing is usually treated as a growth lever; here it’s a statement of values: try it first, pay once, own it. For some, this pricing convention (and how it’s expressed) is the clearest and most convincing TST brand element.
4. Bare-metal Apple UI
Every app uses native system components when possible. This is an aesthetic choice, as each element looks calm and unmistakably at home on the platform. But it’s also a maintenance decision. Standard components are battle-tested, age well, and survive OS updates without demanding a redesign. For a one-person shop, “don’t fight the platform” is how you keep a portfolio of apps alive and functional. The same restraint shows up in the code and interface.
What happened
Eighteen apps with a single, coherent identity make up a catalog that communicates its values before anyone taps an icon. Since launching in May 2025, the catalog has recorded 5,400+ first-time downloads by unique Apple IDs across 111 countries, all without paid advertising.
The numbers have continued to move in the right direction. Daily downloads grew roughly 80% year over year. Monthly in-app “Pro” purchases more than doubled across the first five months of 2026. And about 1 in 18 downloads converts to a one-time Pro unlock, with no tracking and no pushy in-app upsells.
People can usually tell what an app does from its name and recognize it as part of the catalog. Once they open it, the writing and pricing make the same promises as the name.
Zoom in: Truly Simple Nudges
TS Nudges is a tool for creating alerts and managing habits. The Apple ecosystem has a built-in constraint that limits each device to 64 notifications per app. This can complicate the habit-reminder experience, as some users may approach or surpass this limit with just a single custom nudge (a reminder that tells the user to look away from their device every 20 minutes will tally 37 notifications per work day, for instance).
Microcopy that illuminates the murky
Users do not need to learn Apple’s notification system, but they do need enough information to avoid its limit. TS Nudges shows a live daily count as the interval changes, warns when the queue is getting full, and explains how to prevent an interruption. The main window also says how many days remain before the app needs to be reopened and the queue refreshed.
Voice in practice: informative & actionable
Rejected
“Reopen TS Nudges regularly to ensure reliable notifications.”
Chosen
“Nudges are queued through Wednesday. Opening the app refreshes them automatically.”
Why: The rejected version sounds vaguely threatening. The chosen copy gives the user a number, explains the consequence, and tells them what to do without assigning blame.
UX and organization
Truly Simple Timeline is a complex worldbuilding tool that helps writers and other creatives manage their narratives. Timelines can become intricate and sprawling, so clear, concise microcopy is essential to helping users understand their options without overwhelming them. Three presets give them a useful starting point: Minimal, Standard, and Rich.
What carries across the catalog
The apps do different jobs, but they make the same basic promise: clear purpose, calm language, no subscription pressure, and a person you can contact when something goes wrong.