Sneak Peek: Designing Tinkeru and What’s Coming Friday

Hey Tinkerers! 🚗✨ 

We are gearing up to launch a Version 0.1 (V0.1) this coming Friday (6th September) and I wanted to share some behind-the-scenes details on how we are bringing Tinkeru to life.

It’s an exciting milestone for us, and we’re thrilled to take you along on this journey!

Designing Tinkeru

Creating Tinkeru’s landing page was all about balancing speed with quality. Here are some insights on how we did it:

Leveraging an Existing UI Library

To streamline the design and development process, we used an existing UI design library. This decision was the result of a quick, strategic discussion with the team, balancing speed and quality.

Some popular options are Bootstrap, Tailwind or Material UI (MUI)

• The pros: It allows us to move quickly, benefiting both design and coding. We were able to create a functional and visually appealing site in no time and move that into code easily.
  

• The cons: Somewhat limited customisations - though this approach lets us focus on the essentials and get something professional looking out the door, it means there’s less flexibility for unique design tweaks (for now).

Personality and feel

We put a lot of thought into how Tinkeru “feels”. The copy and custom visuals have been crafted to be clear, engaging, and infused with personality. We have incorporated some fun visual elements to give the site a nostalgic, playful vibe.

Designed for First-Time Car Owners

This version of Tinkeru is specifically aimed at first-time car owners with limited skills or knowledge. Our goal is to provide them with simple, easy-to-understand tools and resources to help them gain confidence in maintaining their vehicles.

Designing with the Future in Mind

While this is just V0.1, we’ve designed the page with upcoming features in mind. Thanks to our iterative approach, we’re able to stay flexible, adding new elements and refining the design as we roll out updates.

What‘s Coming Friday?

We’re excited to launch V0.1 of Tinkeru this Friday (6th September) and we want to be upfront - this is very much an ‘ugly baby’ (from before) approach.
The site won’t be perfect, it won’t have any features yet, but it’s a starting point. With your support and feedback, we can help it grow into something truly special.

Here’s how you can help us nurture Tinkeru:

• Check it out: Take a look at the site this weekend, explore what’s available, and let us know what you think. Is anything broken? How’s my grammar and spelling? How does it look on mobile? Your feedback is invaluable as we continue to iterate and improve. What would you like to see next?
  

• Sign up for updates: Join our email list to stay informed about new features, updates, and community news. We’re just getting started, and we will be dropping features regularly and growing Tinkeru!
  

• Share with friends and family: Know any first-time car owners or fellow DIY car enthusiasts? Spread the word! Share Tinkeru with your network, on social media, or wherever you think it’ll resonate. And yes, feel free to comment, ‘smash that like button,’ and get the conversation going!
  

• Connect us with industry contacts: If you have contacts in the digital automotive industry, we’d love to hear from you. Building connections is key to our growth, and any introductions or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Mark your calendar, this Friday is the first day of Tinkeru!

(Don’t worry, I’ll send out a special announcement when the site is live, and I can’t wait for you to explore the very beginning of Tinkeru)

What actual work has happened?

I’ve decided to clean this section up and only update the newest work undertaken!

Work done recently…

1. Further narrowed down MVP approach ✔️

2. UI Kit selected ✔️

3. Lo-fi UI designs ✔️

   1. Shared for feedback ✔️

4. Hi-fi UI designs:

   1. Landing page ✔️

   2. Privacy/Terms Pages ✔️

   3. Shared for feedback ✔️

5. Dev environment created ✔️

6. Tinkeru is “live” on dev environment ✔️

7. Custom artwork sorted ✔️

8. Multiple iterations on content/copy/tone of voice ✔️

9. 2 minute Startup CV promo speech ✔️

Thank youse*

• Thanks again to my developer and co-founder for getting on with the job and smashing out our landing page. I’m loving the vibe and feel we are working toward something great! Tinkeru gang!

• Shout out to Suzi for providing some wonderful UI feedback, and calling out my complete and utter lack of a grid (I have my reasons 😛 ).

• Thanks to Dirk and Maxy for always being there to lend an ear, provide feedback on designs or approaches to a problem and for being genuinely excellent people!

• And thanks to my daughter who absolutely roasted me on Fathers Day with an solid dad joke. So proud.

*Youse is an Australianism in place of saying ‘you guys’.

Let's Connect!

Your thoughts, ideas, comments, and feedback fuel our journey forward - don’t hesitate to reach out!

If you have any suggestions or topics you’d like me to cover, please comment. If you want to follow us on the socials, you can find us on Instagram.

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I’m always up for a coffee chat, so don’t hesitate to reach out via Email or LinkedIn! - Email | LinkedIn

Keep on tinkering! 🚗 🔧