This was a really quick project built for practice. It leverages a free API that returns a random quote from Ron Swanson who was a character from the TV show, Parks and Recs. The UI here was built in storyboard and was very simply at first, Just a button, an image for familiarity, and a label. The colors were chose at random. My approach here was build the functionality first and circle back at the end to clean up the UI.
This project involved a simple and common task: parsing JSON. The API I used is free and functional, but it didn’t show the actual quotes when accessed through a browser. To verify that it was working properly, I ran it through Postman before writing any code.
Nothing too fancy here — just made some basic UI adjustments at load time that were giving me trouble in Storyboard. I’m not a huge fan of mixing implementation between Storyboard and code, but it’s a common tradeoff. This logic lives in its own file and gets called in viewDidLoad.
Once the functionality was solid, I circled back to the UI. I chose a muted color palette to match the personality of the character. Ron Swanson is all about no-nonsense minimalism and the design reflects that.
The app went through another redesign thanks to a second designer friend of mine who offered to help refine the visuals even further. Even though this is a small side project, I’ve always believed in the value of collaboration. I love involving others and leaning into their strengths — whether it’s design, UX, or code — because great products are rarely built in isolation. No matter how simple the app might seem, having fresh perspectives always makes it better.
