Digital product · AI · 2025 — 2026
NotchIA
A macOS app that turns the MacBook notch into a control centre — conceived, built and shipped end to end.
Context
NotchIA is a native macOS app that turns the MacBook notch into a compact control centre: media player, drag-and-drop file handling, calendar, clipboard, Pomodoro timer and AI-assistant monitoring (Claude Code, Codex, Copilot). A personal product run like a real project: product, brand, website and distribution.
The challenge
How do you make an independent product stand out in a niche market: building a clear offer, a recognisable brand world and lasting digital visibility — with no marketing budget, against free alternatives?
My role
Project manager and product owner: product vision, feature prioritisation, marketing-site design, SEO / GEO strategy, structuring the offer (free version / Pro licence) and managing release cycles.
Objectives
- 01
Design a clear marketing site that turns curiosity into downloads
- 02
Structure a legible offer: free trial, Pro licence, updates included
- 03
Build lasting visibility through SEO and GEO (ranking within AI answers)
- 04
Create a coherent brand world, from version names to editorial tone
- 05
Industrialise the release cycle: every version shipped with its own dedicated article
Method
A short, Scrum-inspired cycle: weekly iterations, a backlog prioritised by user value, and one absolute rule — no version ships without its article, its release notes and its quality check. Product, site and communication move forward together, never in isolation.
- 01
Vision & positioning
Studying existing alternatives, defining the positioning (the notch as a control centre, not a gimmick) and choosing a simple business model: free trial, one-off Pro licence.
- 02
Product design
Prioritising features in a backlog, constant trade-offs between user value and complexity, short iterations with real-world testing.
- 03
Marketing site & offer
Designing the notchia.app site: information hierarchy, download journey, changelog page, licence purchase. A single goal per page.
- 04
SEO & GEO
Semantic structuring of the site, content targeting niche searches, and optimisation for AI answer engines: dated, structured, citable content.
- 05
Release rhythm
Establishing a release ritual: version name, dedicated French article, release notes, automatic distribution. Consistency builds trust.
Challenges & solutions
Standing out against free, open-source alternatives already installed
SolutionDifferentiation through polish, a consistent brand world and genuine follow-through: every version documented, a recognisable tone, a premium experience from end to end.
Getting noticed with no advertising budget in a niche market
SolutionA fully organic strategy: long-tail SEO, regular changelog content that feeds search ranking, and GEO optimisation to appear in AI-assistant answers.
Keeping up a steady release pace alongside studies and work-study
SolutionA fully tooled and documented release process: checklists, automated distribution, and a deliberately narrow scope for each version.
Tools
- Claude Code
- SwiftUI
- Cloudflare Pages
- Cloudflare Workers
- GitHub
- Figma
- Notion
Skills developed
Product management · UX / UI · SEO & GEO · Editorial strategy · Branding · Release management
Results
Product publicly distributed on notchia.app, with online download and licensing
Fully operational licensing and automatic-update system
Editorial changelog: a French article published for every version
Distinctive brand world (themed version names, a recognisable tone)
Site structured for SEO and cited by AI answer engines (GEO)
What I took away
NotchIA taught me what no course can: taking a product from idea to public release, deciding alone between desire and value, and building lasting visibility on zero budget. It's the project that best captures my view of the job: a project manager has to understand the product, the technology, the brand and the user.
Next project
Hyper Reportage
A year at the heart of a media outlet: shoots, coordination and content production, from the field to broadcast.