Working out what it is
Deciding what the app does, and what it leaves out. In something small the second part usually takes longer.
Work
What we build.
Native apps for Apple platforms. We take them from a rough idea through design and engineering, out to the App Store, and then keep them running for as long as people use them.
Platforms
- iOS and iPadOS
- Apps written in Swift and SwiftUI, supporting the current OS release and the one before it. Dark mode, Dynamic Type, VoiceOver and keyboard navigation are part of the work from the start.
- macOS
- Real Mac apps, with proper menus, proper windows and keyboard shortcuts that do what you expect. Sandboxed and notarised so they can ship inside or outside the Mac App Store.
- Shared foundations
- Swift packages, local storage, and CloudKit sync where an account actually earns its place. Everything works offline where it can.
Disciplines
Interface design
Layout, type, motion and state, built on the platform’s own conventions instead of a house style borrowed from the web.
Engineering
Swift, SwiftUI and the system frameworks. Tested where tests pay for themselves, instrumented for crashes, and kept small enough to hold in your head.
Release and support
App Store Connect, review, phased rollout. Then the unglamorous part: bug reports, OS migrations, keeping the thing alive.
Process
How a project usually goes.
Shape it. A written description of the problem, the smallest version worth shipping, and whatever constraints are going to drive the architecture.
Build in slices. Working software early and often, on real hardware, so there’s something to react to well before the end.
Ship it. Release to the App Store, watch what actually happens, fix what the first few weeks turn up.
Keep it running. Every autumn brings a new OS. We budget for that up front.
In development
Grout
A touch-first music tracker for iPad. Phrases, chains and songs, played by synths, a sampler and drums in one instrument. It runs on its own, or as an AUv3 instrument inside your host.
- Platform
- iPad. Standalone app and AUv3 instrument.
- Status
- In development. It isn’t on the App Store yet and TestFlight isn’t open.
- Product site
- grout.fm
Released apps
Nothing has reached the App Store under the Formwork Studios name so far. As apps ship we’ll list them here, each with its own product page and privacy policy.