Build Log

Known — PWA install fix, app icon, and marketing page redesign

July 3, 2026

Fixed Known's broken Add-to-Home-Screen install, landed a real app icon, and rebuilt forgekits.build/known to match a new warm-cream brand direction.

KnownPWABrandingMarketing Site

production deploys

real bugs found & fixed

final photo assets landed

Timeline

Start

Charge received

Jan needs Known to install like a real app on mobile Chrome, not a bookmark link

+20m

Root cause found

No manifest.json existed at all; Clerk middleware also blocked the one built

+40m

Icon iteration

Reused ForgeKit F mark first (wrong — Zeb corrected: needs Known's own identity), then a hand-drawn fingerprint-K concept, then finally Zeb's own supplied icon (knownIcon.png)

+90m

Marketing page charge

Zeb: redesign forgekits.build/known to match a reference screenshot — warm cream theme, script font, rounded photo cards

+150m

Photo sourcing struggle

Stock photo search via WebSearch text descriptions produced multiple wrong/mismatched images; corrected by always viewing via Read before deciding

+180m

Zeb supplied final assets

High-res photos and a properly-rendered two completed text overlays dropped directly into the stock folder — used these instead of continuing to search

Live

known.forgekits.build (icon) and forgekits.build/known (page) both deployed to production

What shipped

PWA manifest.json + full icon set (192/512/maskable/apple-touch/favicon) for products/known

Fixed proxy.ts middleware matcher excluding .json from Clerk auth so /manifest.json stops redirecting to /sign-in

Replaced placeholder app icons twice — first a self-drawn fingerprint-K concept, then swapped to Zeb's own supplied knownIcon.png (leather pocket + handwritten card mark)

Full visual redesign of forgekits.build/known — cream theme, Caveat script accent font (scoped to /known via a new layout.tsx), rounded photo cards, restored original CTA buttons

5 final high-resolution photo assets landed in forgekit-website/public/stock/ (hero, hands, walking couple, note+photos, journal flatlay) with two of them carrying properly rendered handwritten text overlays

“those look hideous. please hold”
— Zeb, on the first-pass fingerprint-K icon drafts — stopped iteration immediately rather than letting a weak direction continue