When I first started prioritizing my health and fitness, there was often uncertainty of what to do, how to use a machine, or what muscle was actually working. Over time, observations of other gymgoers and how they exercised led to a whole new realization: A lot of people have no idea what they are doing in the gym.

These people often seem frustrated, and confused- a user base that needs help.

Problem Discovery

Research

Early internet research began with the goal of discovering the exact struggles of frustrated gym goers. Were they doing things wrong? Getting injured? Getting bored? How did all this make them feel?

As it turns out, there are a several very common negative experiences people have in the gym, and it often leads to their giving up. The main reasons why people have a bad experience at the gym, and quit working out is because of:

1. Feeling out of place

2. Lack of excitement, or motivation

3. Being uncomfortable with equipment

4. Injuries or other health concerns

Secondary Research

Primary Research

Users were then randomly selected for interviews in an effort to better understand how these problems affect them, and what is it they need. After brief introductions and a couple warm up questions, participants were asked questions including the following:

• Rate your fitness knowledge on a scale of 1-10.

• Where would you rate fitness on your list of priorities?

• Do you currently workout in a gym?

• How does being in a public gym make you feel?

• What are your goals?

• What motivates you?

• What discourages you?

• Describe a time in which you hurt yourself during physical activity, and how it affected you?
  
  

Participants' answers were documented, and the follow data was organized into affinity maps.

Some key observations from that data:

• Lacking motivation is the most common problem at all levels of gym experience.

• Friends, peers, and others are the most common motivating factors at all levels of gym experience.

• Injuries are not a major problem for most people.

• Most gymgoers use digital media platforms to learn new information on health and fitness.

These observations from the data combined with the secondary research previously conducted were synthesized into two distinct personas.

People at all different levels of gym experience have common problems, so a solution would have to represent the needs of both experienced and inexperienced gymgoers. Meet Tyler and Sandy.

Despite having slightly different needs, there is a lot of overlap in their problems, especially with how it makes them feel. Thanks to them, the problem was finally defined:

People of all experience levels are lacking in motivation, a sense of community, and workout ideas.

Designing a Solution

With the problem now being understood, progress could be made towards finding a solution. After spending a long time analyzing the data on our users needs, it was decided:

The solution to both Tyler and Sandy's problems is an app that connects them with other gymgoers, provides a variety of exercise routines, and is both motivating and engaging.

User Flows

Based on research data, the best approach to meet each individual's needs is a straightforward, primary flow that guides users through a short filtering process. This will be complemented by a login flow that helps categorize users and provide personalized workout recommendations.

Wireframe Flows

After the creation of user flows, post it note sketches were testing with selected participants. Tyler felt like the exercise filtering process was excessive, and Sandy was overwhelmed by the workout options. Additionally, the need for connection with peers was missing. The experience of both users was being negatively impacted, and with something as important as their health they don't want these types of frustrations.

Feedback from Tyler and Sandy was applied to the first low fidelity wireframes. Things needed to be simplified, so the home screen was sectioned off into basic categories. Each category would then take users through a straightforward flow that ended in creating part of a workout routine. A social media flow was also created to help connect users by allowing them to share their progress, routines, and motivations.

Testing

Selected users tested porotypes of the wireframes in person, and were asked to to speak out loud their thoughts, questions, likes, dislikes, and concerns.

Users reported back the following:

• Difficulty with navigation

• Not finding the social media section

• Not understanding some of the language and terms

• Frustrations creating and accessing workout routines
  
  

With out more easily identifiable and smoother interactions, Tyler and Sandy were never going to feel like up-Lift was creating a better fitness experience. Sandy was having too hard of a time getting started, and never felt that initial motivation. Tyler was also unsatisfied simply being shown what exercises to do- it did not feel engaging enough. This caused Tyler to further feel like the app was not an accessory he would use alongside his workouts.

Hi-Fi Testing

With the changes applied, another round of testing began. This time the high fidelity prototype were be tested with selected users. They were asked many of the same questions as before, and were additionally directed through specific flows of adding an exercise to a workout routine, and navigating their social media profile.

This time around, user navigation improved majorly. Users experienced far less frustration and confusion, and there was stronger positive feedback regarding user engagement.

New users responded positively to the beginner home screen, and more people were able to locate the social media section. With these changes, Sandy felt comfortable working out alongside up-Lift, and better connected to like-minded people around her. More experienced gym goers were excited to share and view splits with their friends, and new users reported feeling like making friends in the gym would be easier with up-Lift.

However, things were still not exactly what users were looking for. Users gave the following negative feedback to the high fidelity designs:

• There are too many blocky elements

• The soft blue tone make the app feel depressing

• Several elements feel too plain and like they're pasted in

Notes taken from the wireframe testing were applied to the first high fidelity prototype. Some key changes to up-Lift based on that data were:

• The addition of a first time user home screen that displays premade beginner workout routines, defines fitness lingo such as "split", and has a simpler layout.

• Revamping the returning user home screen to include a more prominent "social" button, and be more interactive with goal and progress tracking.

• Adding a check off button to exercises, making the app more interactive during workouts.

By reducing clutter and providing clearer direction, Sandy would feel less overwhelmed and confused. As for Tyler, he would now feel like up-Lift is his own pocket fitness buddy, providing new exercises and propelling his workouts forward.

Final Design & Conclusion

In response, up-Lift got a face-lift. The app was redesigned to the take up the full width of the phone screen. Instead of solely relying on blocky buttons to group information, screens were expanded to make them scrollable, segments were clearly divided and labeled, and buttons were replaced with scrollable tabs. A small new detail to the home screen was the inclusion of motivational quotes. Bright colors were used as well, as up-Lift took on a new purple appearance. All of these changes were made with the user's need for ease and motivation in mind.

Doing so reduced screen clutter, made the whole app feel more organized, and the purple color scheme brought a more inspiring and optimistic feel to up-Lift.

The final result was an inspiring fitness app that was engaging for users of all experience levels. Whether you are new to the gym like Sandy, or a veteran like Tyler, up-Lift has a way for you to connect with friends, and improve your overall fitness experience.

You can check out a working prototype of up-Lift here:

Reflection

This project taught me the importance of staying in the mindsets of design thinking and user centered design. When I began my research, my personal experiences were causing me to conclude that injuries would be a major problem for users. I thought this would be the main focus of the app, and almost strayed in this direction. In reality, my research revealed that it is only one small factor, and other issues are actually much more common roadblocks to gymgoers. I had to keep this in mind at all times moving forward.

There were few times I found myself straying off and designing for myself, only to find that what I wanted and what users needed did not always align. The use of personas was extremely helpful in correcting this mistake, as it made staying user centered much easier.

I am now in the process of working to find investors and developers to bring up-Lift to life in the app store. This next step has revealed the importance of collaboration to me, and how it is truly something that needs to be taking place at all stages of my future design projects.

If I could go back and do one thing differently, it would be to test more often, avoid making any design changes on a whim, and keep collaboration in mind from the beginning.

Testing the Hi-Fidelity Prototype