Primer.

Context

Primer began as a study aid for my own coursework. I kept opening it up as friends asked to use it. The product is deliberately narrow: type a term, get the primer, and close the tab with enough context to continue studying.

I design, build, host, and maintain Primer. Using it for my own coursework keeps me close to the parts that need work.

Constraints

A study tool competes with the assignment, lecture, or exam that sent someone there. It cannot demand a long setup flow or require users to organize a second knowledge system before getting help.

The result should help a student get oriented without pretending to replace their source material.

Pivotal decisions

Keep one dominant action

The entry point centers on the term a student needs to understand. Secondary controls remain out of the way until they are useful.

Optimize for a short session

Primer is designed to be opened between other study tasks. The interface avoids dashboards, streaks, and collection mechanics that would turn a quick reference into another product to manage.

Make the result readable before making it clever

Typography, line length, and content order carry most of the experience. Motion is used for state changes and feedback rather than decoration around the answer.

Outcomes

Primer is live and remains a tool I use myself. Its current form protects the original constraint: a student can arrive with one term and leave with a clearer starting point without maintaining a separate workspace.

The project reinforces a product rule I carry elsewhere: removing an unnecessary step is often more valuable than adding another feature.