LATCH — Microcosm Editor | Josh Grieve UX/UI Design

About the project

LATCH is a browser-based editor and unlimited preset library for the Hologram Microcosm — a powerful effects processor held back by its hardware UI. The app was validated through structured AI product discovery before a line of code was written, then built end-to-end using Claude Code, Cursor, and Figma. It's in soft launch now, with beta shipping soon.

Deliverables

Product Design

Full-Stack Development

AI Discovery

Role

Founder · Designer · Developer

The Problem

The Hologram Microcosm is one of the most expressive effects processors available — but it has a fundamental UX problem. No screen, only 16 preset slots, and no save confirmation. Musicians were losing sounds, managing presets in spreadsheets, and hitting a hard creative ceiling every time they ran out of slots. The hardware was brilliant. The software experience was nonexistent.

AI Product Discovery

Before writing a single line of code, I ran a structured AI product discovery process using a custom Claude-powered framework. The process analyzed pain points surfaced across Microcosm user communities — Reddit threads, Facebook groups, YouTube comment sections — and synthesized them into a clear problem map and product hypothesis. The top themes: preset loss anxiety, the cognitive overhead of mentally managing 16 slots, and no way to organize or browse sounds over time. Discovery confirmed the opportunity and shaped every product decision that followed: users didn't need better hardware — they needed a companion app that lived in the browser.

Design & Build

Design started in Figma, grounding every interface decision in the pain points surfaced during discovery. The library had to be useful even without a hardware connection. The editor mirrored the Microcosm's physical controls so the mental model transferred immediately. Development was driven by Claude Code and Cursor — Claude Code handled component architecture and the WebMIDI sync layer, while Cursor accelerated iteration on the UI. The entire product went from validated concept to soft launch in a fraction of the time a traditional development cycle would have required.

What We Shipped

LATCH is in soft launch — free to use in the browser, no account required. It gives Microcosm users a full preset editor, an unlimited library with tag-based organization, automatic version history with one-click restore, and one-click sync to the physical device. Beta is shipping soon with cloud sync and multi-device support. The project is direct proof of what's possible when AI product discovery, AI-assisted development, and intentional design work together from day one.

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