My Pace
A fitness app where users can create a personalized workout regime at their own pace.
Role
Sole UX / UI Design
Tools Used
Figma
Miro
Whimsical
Google Docs
Timeline
12 Weeks
The ProblemIf you’ve ever felt terrible after dabbling with fitness apps in hopes to reach that “summer body”- don’t worry you’re not alone. Let me make this corny disclaimer that there is NO such thing as a perfect body, you are beautiful as you are ❤️ (but seriously though… I mean it!)
Fitness app users, develop a poor relationship with their bodies after downloading and using fitness apps.
In a recent study by Science Direct showed, 75% of their participants used My Fitness Pal app, and 73% of those participants developed an eating disorder. (Science Direct)
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The National Library of Medicine concluded that diet and fitness apps have 8 themes of negative consequences when using them such as “fixation on numbers, rigid diet, obsession, app dependency, high sense of achievement, extreme negative emotions, motivations from ‘negative’ messages, and excess competition. (National Library of Medicine)
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These fitness apps seem to be having an adverse affect on users’ mental health… that’s gotta change!
The SolutionBuild a stress-free fitness app that allows users to create a personalized workout regime that suits their pace.
Let’s do some research to figure out how to do this!
Competitive analysisAccording to my secondary research users feel shame and guilt when they can’t keep up with fitness programs provided by their fitness app.
Competitors force users to follow their pre-made workout regime and diets leaving no leeway for the users to make adjustments to the program if something isn’t working for them.
My Pace allows users to customize their workout regime so they can create a program that best suits their lifestyle, alleviating the feeling of shame and guilt due to the pace of the program.
Nike Fitness
My Fitness Pal
Peleton
Alright, next step- time to get to know my users on a personal level!
Primary Research80% of my interviewees had difficulties keeping up with the fitness program provided by their preferred fitness app. This lead to feelings of failure, shame and guilt.
Despite my secondary research showing that users of fitness apps often have difficulty keeping up with the pace of their fitness program which lead to negative emotions- I asked my interviewees a series of questions to better understand their environment, their goals and their mental state. This will give me valuable information when creating My Pace to design a fitness app that fosters positive emotions and impact.
Interview Questions (sample)What does your support system look like while on this fitness journey?
What has been the biggest struggle while on this journey, and why?
What motivated you to download the app?
What goals did you achieve while trying the app?
How did you integrate this app in your daily life?
How did the app affect your relationship between food and body image? (positive or negative)
Key InsightsI synthesized my primary research findings into an affinity map and discovered some key insights:
100% of users expressed fitness apps lead to poor relationship with body and food
Users restricted their eating when their app notified them if they skipped a workout or didn’t log their daily calorie intake.
Fitness apps caused users to feel stressed
100% Users felt overwhelmed by fitness apps constant push notifications.
100% Users felt stressed trying to keep up with the pace of the program.
100% Users felt stressed when equating loss of weight to success.
100% of users downloaded apps first before seeking professional help or gym membership
Interviewees mentioned downloading free trials fitness apps to gain control over their weight, before consulting a professional.
User Personas
SitemapFun, time to start creating!
I planned out a sitemap to know exactly what pages I need to create for My Pace, and how they link with one another.
Task and User FlowsAfter I’ve figured out my site map I created my tasks and user flows that I’ll be iterating for the prototype.
WireframesOnce I created my user and task flows, I carried them out in low-fidelity wireframes.
The SolutionDesign a stress and guilt free experience!
Stress-Free Workout Routine
Users build their own workout routine that suits the pace of their lifestyle.
App uses encouraging language to motivate users on their fitness journey and to alleviate the feeling of shame and guilt.
Words of Encouragement
Users gain a sense of reward by collecting points after each workout video completed.
Points can be redeemed for more workout videos to add variety to their routine.
Reward System
Iterations and TestingAfter testing out a high-fidelity prototype to multiple users, I made 3 major adjustments to the final product.
Users wanted colours to be more vibrate to help them stay motivated.
I changed the hue of the primary colour (orange) and the secondary colour (teal) to a more vibrant hue. I also ran it through accessibility tests to make sure it was legible for people with vision difficulties.
Users wanted explanation on how the reward system works.
I added an explanation of the point system at the end of the onboarding flow, instead of directing the user straight to the home page after they’ve created a new account.
Users had difficulty finding the filter button in a timely manner.
Users who weren’t tech savvy were having trouble refining their search on the classes page. To assist those who aren’t as tech savvy I added a tooltip that appears when a user first downloads the app in areas where users are most confused.
ReflectionsWow I can’t believe it, my first ever UX / UI project finito! There were a lot of learning curves as I was simultaneously learning UX / UI concepts while trying to immediately implement them in this project (this was my first school assignment). Not gonna lie… a lot of times I didn’t understand where some parts of the case study was going to lead me. For example- making a sitemap for the sake up it, knowing it’s important but seeing it in practice makes a lot more sense! But in the end I trusted the process and I’m totally happy I did- now the UX / UI process makes COMPLETE sense!
Time management is key: Because it’s the first time going through the motions, I initially didn’t have an idea how much time each section would take, all I knew was that I had 12 weeks (while working full time, trust me I was tired!). Truly, finding participants to interview was arguable the most time consuming part of this project because I had to cater to other people’s time…not the other way around. This ate up a decent chunk which left me rushing other aspects of the project. Next time I will DEFINITELY get organized a lot sooner, that way I can recruit participants that are available when I need them.
Trust the process: As mentioned before, this was an interesting lesson I didn’t grasp until the end of the project. Throughout the project I was doing each section as told but didn’t quite string along WHY it was important or how each section and new insights built off one another. Now seeing it all piece together makes complete sense.
Design is more than just a product: Doing desk research is one way to gain general insight on potential problems to solve, but the humanizing experience of this journey was being able to connected through interviews with vulnerable users on their fitness journey. After doing my interviews I reframed my perspective from “I’m collecting information to design a product” to “I’m designing an experience to help users reach their goals”. Because of this reframed mindset, I was constantly checking myself while designing being extra conscious of how each design design would affect the user’s mental health.