HomeWork / Yo B**** Selected work

A pop culture side project.

2014 / Indee Box

Two words.
Heard everywhere.

Aaron Paul’s catchphrase as an iOS app: pick a contact, pick a line, and it arrives in Jesse Pinkman’s actual voice. He recorded the lines; I built the app at Indee Box in 2014.

Go on. Press play.
  • RoleiOS development
  • CollaborationAaron Paul · Indee Box
  • Release2014 · iOS
  • ReceptionWorldwide press

Hear it

Push a button. Get yelled at.

Real clips from the app, recorded by Aaron Paul. Tap to play.

These clips are Aaron Paul's voice from the Yo B**** app, © Indee Box and used here by permission. They're shown as a portfolio sample only. Please don't download, redistribute, or reuse them.

The idea

Yo, but make it Jesse Pinkman.

In 2014, a one-word app called Yo went viral by sending friends a single word: "Yo." We made the obvious sequel.

Every message lands in the voice of Aaron Paul, fresh off Breaking Bad. Pick a contact, pick a phrase, and Jesse Pinkman greets, congratulates, or politely insults them for you.

It launched with one tweet

Aaron Paul @aaronpaul_8

Yo B****! To everyone that has ever asked me to call them a b****, here you go. It's an App B****! Happy Holidays. itunes.apple.com/us/app/yb/id91…

The app

Five taps, infinite ways to annoy your friends.

Compose screen with contacts and the phrase picker
Compose
Inbox of received voice greetings
Inbox
The phrase list in a color spectrum
Phrases
Contact list to send to
Contacts
Side drawer with phrase packs and upgrades
Packs

Watch

The catchphrase that became an app.

Jesse Pinkman's signature line was already everywhere, Aaron Paul leaned all the way in, and then we turned it into a product.

Aaron Paul on Conan, leaning into the line that started it all. Watch on YouTube ↗
Jesse Pinkman montage Watch the compilation on YouTube. Jimmy Kimmel Live! Aaron Paul talks about the app on late-night TV.

Under the hood

How it was built.

My role
iOS development.
Studio
Indee Box, my independent app studio.
Platform
iPhone, iOS 7 and up.
Built with
Objective-C, UIKit, AVFoundation, StoreKit in-app purchases, push notifications.
Content
~180 voice lines from Aaron Paul, packaged as buyable phrase packs.
Launched
December 5, 2014.

Press

Then it went everywhere.

Within 48 hours it had been covered across a dozen countries, from The Verge and Time to CNN and the Washington Post.

Exclusive Mashable The exclusive first look at the app. USThe Verge USTime USCNN Money USWashington Post USFast Company USBusiness Insider USPeople USCNET USVentureBeat USThe Next Web

And dozens more, in a dozen countries

  • The Verge
  • Time
  • CNN
  • The Washington Post
  • Mashable
  • VentureBeat
  • Business Insider
  • Fast Company
  • People
  • CNET
  • The Next Web
  • MTV
  • The A.V. Club
  • USA Today
  • Digital Trends
  • Product Hunt
  • Paste
  • Bustle
  • GeekWire
  • Uproxx
  • Pocket-lint
  • Perez Hilton
  • The Telegraph
  • The Independent
  • GQ
  • Gizmodo
  • Times of India
  • CNN México
  • ABC
  • Us Weekly

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