I use my imagination to design PXL-Makr

By Hafiz

Why it exists

PXL-Makr started with a very long overdue job: designing icons for the App Artisans apps. I've always loved pixel art. I'm not good at it myself, but I love how simple it is, and the challenge of making something within tight limits. Those limits push me toward more creative ideas, not fewer.

There are plenty of pixel-art apps out there. I wanted one made for exactly what I needed, in my own style.

A tool for painting with your fingers

I pictured PXL-Makr as a tool for someone painting with their fingers. Someone like a carpet weaver or a tile maker, placing one tile at a time, taking their time, zooming in and out to see the whole piece.

It starts on the floor

When I need to figure out a UI, I sit on the floor, close my eyes and imagine using it. PXL-Makr was meant for desktop, but the first thing I saw in my head was me using it on my phone. That changed everything. Every idea became a question of what I could take away so my hands could just make. The phone version came later, but it's why the app is so simple.

Then the notebook

As soon as I open my eyes, I write down or draw what I saw, because the details fade fast. Drawing brings in more ideas, and they go into the notebook too. That's where the top bar, the export panel and the row of round buttons first appeared.

Then a break

After that I walk away. Sometimes I sleep on it. Sometimes I make coffee, have a snack, go for a run, take a shower or work out. The idea keeps working while I'm not looking at it.

Then I build it, one small step at a time

I built PXL-Makr with Claude, and my spec was usually a photo of a notebook page. Every step was the same: a short message or a sketch, a small change, then a look at the result. The polish came from the tiny back-and-forth tweaks.

Some ideas didn't survive. Round pixels looked fun until they made every icon look blurry, so they went. The pen and eraser buttons went too. Now the pointer works it out for you: point at an empty square and you draw, point at a filled one and you erase. Taking things out made the app better each time.

The tool made its own logo

The PXL-Makr logo is a little icon I drew in PXL-Makr itself. It's the same tool I now use to make the App Artisans icons, the job that started it all.

The process is the same every time: imagine, write it down, step away, then build in small steps. Design is inherently messy and chaotic. I just ride with it.