A personal invitation to explore AI-assisted building.
With the increasing maturity of AI-driven development tools, I used the creation of my Histomap Explorer application to enable hands-on experience to shape my own perspective on the way these tools change the nature of software product management and development work. Much of my efforts occurred inside a ChatGPT chat window. Later, I shifted to Codex. The result is an incomplete, but fully-functional application that demonstrates how builders without coding skills can now bring their ideas to life.
I invite you to explore the application yourself. View the history of music, animation, and automotive design through the lens of John B. Sparks, and read about my experience building it in the "How it was built" story. If you too are a builder, I encourage you to get hands-on with these and other tools. I have expanded my toolset to Claude Design and Claude Code, building other cool apps.
The experience will help form your own vision of how AI will impact your profession, your teams, or your own journey as a hobbyist or entrepreneur.
Music
Follow Rock from British Invasion through Arena Rock, Alternative, and Indie branches. The map is dense enough to show both canonical anchors and discovery-oriented supporting artists.
Automotive Design
Compare American performance eras, design revivals, and the continuity of specific nameplates. This domain is a strong prototype and the next major data expansion target.
Animation
Use the same visual model to understand stylistic eras, influential studios, and branches of mainstream and experimental animation over time.
Start with a guided example
If you are new to the application, the fastest way to understand it is to jump into a curated view and scroll. These presets load the live map directly.
Contact
For more information about this project or if you are experiencing issues with the application, click here to contact Darren.