01
Press start
Tap Start session when the sermon begins. A live timer shows that Simble is listening, and it listens only while a session is active.
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Case Study · Mobile App · Concept to Build
Simble: notes + the Word, without the scramble.
A calm sermon companion for Android. You tap start when the message begins. When the preacher quotes a scripture, Simble finds the verse and shows it in a slim strip above your notes, so you never have to stop listening to go looking for it.
Simble in 15 secondsPress start · it listens · scripture appears · add it · keep writing
01 · The Problem
It started in church one Sunday.
The idea came to me in church on a particular Sunday, while I was listening to my pastor’s sermon. He kept citing scriptures, one after another. By the time I had found one verse, typed it out and gone back to my notes, the sermon had moved on and I had missed the point he was making.
People taking notes in a live service are stuck with a trade-off:
Chase every scripture…
…and lose the flow of the message. Every reference means stopping, switching apps, typing, reading and coming back.
…or keep writing
and miss the exact words being quoted. Notes apps don't know scripture, and Bible apps aren't built for note-taking.
Design goal: remove the scramble. Let people stay present in the message and still leave with complete, accurate notes.Core promise · Notes + the Word, without the scramble
02 · The Solution
A digital notebook that happens to know the Bible.
02
Scripture appears
When a reference is heard ("turn with me to Hebrews 11"), the full verse lands in a slim strip at the top. It never covers your notes.
03
Capture and keep writing
Add the verse to your note with one tap or bookmark it. Stop + Save keeps the session together, ready to reopen or export.
03 · Key Features
Everything the service needs, nothing it doesn't.
Listen
Live scripture detection
Spoken references are recognised and resolved to the full passage, including forms like "Romans chapter 8 verse 28".
Read
20 English Bible translations
Full names in Settings and short abbreviations (KJV, NKJV, GNT) in the notebook. When the preacher names a translation, the smart switch changes to it.
Write
A strip that never covers your notes
The scripture area stays compact and fixed. The title field and blank canvas take the rest of the screen.
Resume
Drafts you can reopen
A pencil icon reopens any note. Keep typing, or start listening again to add new verses.
Protect
Interruption-safe sessions
Switch apps and listening pauses, but nothing is lost. When you come back, choose Continue or Save.
Organise
Colour, tags and backgrounds
Colour-code notes and drafts, group them by date, colour or tag, and set a solid, gradient or photo background.
Return
Bookmarks
"Words to return to": saved verses with a colour and a title, available offline.
Keep
Export and backup
Export a session as PDF, text or image. Back up everything and restore it on a new phone.
Trust
Private by design
No audio is ever recorded or stored. Username and password only, with notes kept on the device.
04 · Design Approach
Calm over clever.
Simble is used during worship, so the interface has to stay out of the way. Every decision followed four principles.
- Notes first, scripture secondThe verse strip is deliberately small and pinned to the top. The writing canvas fills the rest of the screen.
- One-tap actionsAdd to notes, Bookmark and Clear always sit in the same place, so you can use them without looking away from the pulpit.
- Quiet visual languageSoft cream space, one deep-green accent and rounded cards. No badges, streaks or feeds.
- Trust through clarityPrivacy is written into the product ("Listening, with care"), not buried in a policy.
Cream #F6F5EE
Sage #E8EDE5
Simble Green #2F5444
Ink #1C2420
Amber #C98B3E
Slate #6E7FB0
Rose #B5616A
05 · Iteration
What changed from v1 to v2.
After using the first build in real services, I documented every point of friction and rebuilt the notebook around it.
| Area | v1 (first Draftbit build) | v2 (current) |
|---|---|---|
| Header | Large stacked "Ready to listen" card under a subtitle | Subtitle removed; a compact Start session box (mic + timer) on the same row as "A space to listen." |
| Notes | "Your notes" label and a footer helper line | A proper Title field over a blank "Write here…" canvas; helper line removed |
| Drafts | Saved sessions were final | Pencil icon reopens any note to keep typing or resume listening |
| Interruptions | Switching apps stopped and saved the session | Listening pauses and the note is kept; Continue or Save on return |
| Translations | Two public-domain cards (KJV, ASV) | 20 translations in one dropdown, abbreviations in the notebook, smart switch |
| Organisation | A plain list | Colour-coding, grouping by date, colour or tag, and note backgrounds |
06 · Build Process
From a Sunday frustration to a working app.
- Discovery
Problem framed from first-hand experience
Defined the core loop: Start, listen, surface the verse, take notes, Save. Named it, and set the tone: calm, minimal, church-friendly.
- Documentation
Concept note, app brief and build roadmap
Wrote the product documents in plain language: the MVP feature set with priorities, the technical risks (speech accuracy, reference parsing, Bible licensing, battery) and a phased roadmap.
- Platform choice
Evaluated free mobile builders
Compared Replit, Bolt.new, Draftbit, FlutterFlow and Cursor. Chose Draftbit for native React Native + Expo output with exportable code.
- Build v1
Working prototype in Draftbit
Live speech-to-scripture detection, the verse strip, manual lookup, past sessions, bookmarks, settings, light/dark themes and local backup.
- Build v2
Field-tested and rebuilt
Rewrote the notebook layout, added drafts, interruption-safe sessions, 20 translations and colour-coding (see Iteration).
- Launch
Brand, showreel, landing page and waitlist
Produced the product mockups, a 15-second motion showreel, and a launch landing page with a countdown and a first-tester waitlist. Next step: an installable Android build through Expo EAS.
07 · Screens
Inside the app.
08 · Under the Hood
Architecture & technical decisions.
Architecture
- Expo / React Native app built in Draftbit with exportable source code
- Real-time device speech recognition while a session is active
- Reference parser for spoken patterns: book names, "chapter… verse…", number words, ranges and named translations
- Verse lookup through Bible text APIs, starting with public-domain translations
- Local-first storage of sessions, drafts, verses and bookmarks per user
Product decisions
- Listening only during an active session; raw audio never stored
- The app pauses listening in the background instead of closing the session, so nothing is lost
- Full JSON backup and restore for moving to a new phone
- Licensed translations flagged in the UI ("requires licensed access") until rights are in place
- Release path: Expo EAS build to an installable Android .apk
The Name
Simble.
Sim- from the Greek σημειωματάριο (simeiomatário), meaning notebook, plus -ble from Bible. A notebook for the Bible.
09 · Outcome
Idea to working product.
4 tabs
Notebook, Past sessions, Bookmarks and Settings, all built around one main screen
20
English Bible translations in a compact, searchable selector
2 builds
A working v1, then a field-tested v2 rebuilt from real service use
Simble shows how I work: I start from a real human problem, define it sharply, design only what serves it, and build until it works in the real world. The same process carries over to operational tools, event systems and client products.