The Story of Shelfu

Shelfu started as a simple idea: I wanted a better way to track and organize my manga collection. I was tired of notebooks, random screenshots, and messy spreadsheets. I wanted something that was intuitive, visual, and actually fun to use.

Why I Built Shelfu

As someone who loves manga, I realized there wasn’t a tool that truly matched how I wanted to manage my collection. Existing apps were either too cluttered, too limited, or just didn’t feel personal. That’s when I decided to build Shelfu: a platform that lets manga enthusiasts like me take control of their collection in a way that is both practical and beautiful.

The Journey

Building Shelfu was as much about learning as it was about creating. I dived deeper into React, TailwindCSS, and frontend animations. I experimented with user-friendly dashboards, responsive designs, and dark mode. Every feature, from global search to collection insights, was a challenge that pushed me to improve my coding skills.

Along the way, I learned how important it is to think like a user. What do people really want from a collection app? How can I make data visualization both useful and simple? How do I make the app fast and responsive while keeping it visually appealing?

Lessons Learned

• Design with empathy, understand the user’s pain points.
• Break problems into smaller parts, small victories add up.
• Consistency and attention to detail matter, especially in UI/UX.
• Never stop learning, each challenge is an opportunity to grow.
• Feedback is gold, watch how users interact and iterate quickly.

Why It Matters

Shelfu isn’t just an app, it’s a reflection of a personal journey. A journey of solving a problem I faced, learning new technologies, and creating something that brings joy and value to others. Every feature, every line of code, tells a story of growth, curiosity, and passion.

Built with ❤️ by Mahib. A small tool with a big story.