I Let Opus 5.5 Redesign My App. Here’s the Before and After.

I had an alarm app with a simple idea: get out of bed and walk to quiet it. The design still looked like a first draft.

So I gave Opus 5.5 the project and asked for a complete visual overhaul. Here’s the before and after.

Before and after: the original alarm app beside Steppy’s redesigned results screen. Click to watch the full build.

From a basic alarm to a morning race

Before: a pale background, a trophy, a streak counter, and a simple “You made it” screen. The idea was there, but the design felt generic.

After: Steppy. Dark backgrounds, bold type, glowing color, a racetrack, and a results screen that makes getting out of bed feel like winning something.

The new design gives the app a clearer personality: race your friends, beat your own time, and make mornings a little more fun.

Steppy Today screen with a 7 a.m. alarm, 100-step goal, racetrack, streak, and personal best.

The redesigned Today screen. App preview from the Steppy waitlist page.

Here’s how I guided the redesign

Describe the experience. I wanted it to feel polished, social, and fun, with movement and animation. That gave the AI more direction than “make it look better.”
Ask for options before building. I asked for five visual directions, reviewed them, and combined the parts I liked from two. I also asked it to work on a separate branch, so the redesign could be developed separately from the original.
Build, then click through it. I reviewed the alarms, leaderboard, profile, and practice run. The walkthrough uses an iPhone simulator, so it shows the design and interactions, not a real-world step-tracking test.

That’s the part worth trying on your own project: give the AI a clear brief, choose a direction, and then review what it actually builds.

All code. No graphics.

There’s another moment in this video that still blows my mind: I made this entire JavaScript animation using code. No graphics were used. It’s a small part of the walkthrough, but watch this 15-second clip.