Fitnext, an application for on-demand workouts.
Fitnext harnesses the power of your location and schedule to curate a personalized workout regimen tailored precisely to your requirements. Whether you're in the mood for a spontaneous yoga session in the nearby park or sticking to your well-loved personal trainer for your weekly fitness routine, Fitnext effortlessly streamlines the process of staying fit and active. With Fitnext, you can bid farewell to the hassles of planning your workouts, allowing you to focus on what truly matters: your health and fitness journey.
My Role
User Experience Designer and Researcher
Duration
5 months
Tools
Adobe XD, Sketch, Miro
Project Background
My client for this freelance project happened to be a personal trainer himself. As his business expanded and evolved, he recognized the immense potential in transforming the workout planning and creation process into a user-friendly application.
This innovative approach promised to bring a dual benefit: it would not only streamline his personal training services, making them more efficient and accessible to a broader client base, but it would also address a common problem faced by clients seeking effective fitness solutions.
The final product we developed revolutionized the fitness experience. It simplified the scheduling, payment, and overall management of workout classes. Furthermore, it ensured complete privacy for both clients and trainers, fostering a secure and confidential environment. Additionally, the app boasted messaging features, enabling seamless communication, and provided users with the opportunity to rate their fitness experiences. This holistic solution not only enhanced the trainer's business operations but also offered clients a convenient and efficient way to achieve their fitness goals.
User Research
Balancing the distinct needs of both clients and trainers posed a formidable challenge during the development process. The central question was how to create a system that not only benefits both parties but also respects their privacy and exceeds their expectations. To navigate this intricate terrain, extensive research and analysis were crucial.
Delving deep into the competitive landscape, we meticulously examined existing applications to identify best practices and areas where they excelled. This critical step in the process allowed us to draw insights and inspiration from successful models while ensuring our application offered unique value.
Additionally, we engaged in an immersive study of the perspectives and priorities of clients and trainers. We dissected various applications to assess what worked effectively and where potential improvements could be made. This comprehensive analysis was instrumental in shaping the final product.
One noteworthy discovery was the user profile of fitness application enthusiasts. This audience, while moderately diverse, shared a common thread: a commitment to making positive lifestyle choices and a desire to enhance their overall well-being. They displayed a keen interest in technologies that facilitated personal improvement, such as financial and productivity applications.
To gain a comprehensive understanding of the nuances that mattered most to our clients and trainers, we immersed ourselves in the world of fitness apps. The insights gained through this hands-on exploration, combined with our rigorous research, informed the development of an application that not only met the needs of both parties but also exceeded their expectations.
Personas
Leveraging the valuable insights gleaned from our meticulous user research, I embarked on crafting a comprehensive user concept. My vision for this concept was rooted in the aspiration to make the application exceptionally user-friendly and approachable.
In shaping this user persona, I placed a strong emphasis on representing the everyday, ambitious individual – someone who resonates with a broad audience and embodies the spirit of those striving to take charge of their health and overall wellness. This persona encapsulated the essence of someone who seeks a user experience that is intuitive, empowering, and aligns seamlessly with their journey toward personal well-being.
By anchoring our design and development efforts to this relatable and aspirational user concept, we aimed to ensure that the application resonated with users from all walks of life, fostering a sense of accessibility and motivation as they embark on their health and wellness endeavors.
Empathy Map
Following the creation of user personas, I embarked on a journey to gain a deeper understanding of our users by delving into their mindset and empathizing with how they approach various situations. This exercise was pivotal as it laid the foundation for designing an intuitive user flow that anticipated and accommodated the choices potential users might want to make. To cultivate this empathy, I posed several critical questions to myself, aiming to view the user's perspective through a comprehensive lens:
Frustrations in Health Space: What are the prevailing sources of frustration among potential users in the health and wellness domain? Identifying these pain points allowed us to address them effectively within the application.
Unmet Needs: Which specific needs within the health space are currently going unmet? Recognizing these unfulfilled requirements enabled us to tailor solutions that would resonate with our users.
Problem-Solving Approaches: When our users encounter health-related challenges, what steps do they typically take to seek out solutions? Understanding their problem-solving behaviors guided us in designing user-centric features.
External Influences: How does the external environment impact the way our users perceive and engage with their health? Recognizing these external influences equipped us to provide a holistic user experience that accommodates various factors shaping their health journey.
By addressing these questions and constructing a detailed empathy map, we not only gained a profound insight into our users' perspectives but also laid a strong foundation for developing an application that truly resonated with their needs, frustrations, and aspirations within the health and wellness sphere.
User Flow
Crafting a streamlined and enjoyable onboarding process was a pivotal element in designing the user flow. We recognized that summoning the courage and motivation to engage in workouts with a trainer can be a challenge in itself. Therefore, ensuring that the signup process was both user-friendly and hassle-free became a paramount goal.
Given the inherent complexities of the application, catering to the diverse needs of both clients and trainers was crucial for optimizing their experience. Our focus extended beyond just facilitating the signup; we aimed to provide an array of choices that would empower users at every step of their fitness journey.
From the inception of workout creation and appointment scheduling to determining the location and selecting the ideal trainer based on geographical proximity and availability, we aimed to offer a comprehensive suite of features that catered to the unique preferences and requirements of both clients and trainers. This approach allowed us to create an application that was versatile and adaptable, catering to a wide range of user scenarios and ensuring a holistic and personalized experience for each individual.
Low Fidelity Wireframe
Translating the meticulously crafted user flow into a visually compelling and intuitive application was a pivotal phase in our development journey. This undertaking posed intriguing challenges, particularly in balancing the presentation of elements such as the map, search functionality, and featured trainers within the user interface.
Throughout this design process, I constantly questioned and refined our approach, guided by several critical considerations:
Apple Health Integration: Where and how should we seamlessly integrate Apple Health approval within the application, ensuring it enhances the user experience?
Personalization of User Data: How can we empower users to personalize the data they share with others while maintaining privacy and security?
Client-Trainer Interaction: At what juncture should clients and trainers be afforded the opportunity to communicate with each other through the messenger feature?
Featured Trainers vs. All Options: How do we spotlight ideal trainers for a client while still presenting them with a comprehensive array of available choices?
Map Functionality: How do we design the map feature in a way that allows for easy navigation while also providing access to user profiles, trainer schedules, and additional browsing options?
These questions prompted thoughtful design decisions, ultimately yielding user interface designs that seamlessly navigated the intricacies of the application's functionality. The iterative refinement process allowed us to create an interface that not only comprehended the application's complexity but also offered an intuitive and engaging experience for our users.
High Fidelity Wireframe
The logical progression from our initial design concepts was the creation of high-fidelity wireframes. This step was instrumental in gaining a deep understanding of how all the visual and interactive elements would seamlessly integrate to form a cohesive user flow.
The primary challenge was to orchestrate a harmonious synergy among the various components while maintaining a delicate balance that prevented overwhelming the user. Our ultimate aim was to engineer an impact that would resonate with users, cultivating an intuitive and engaging experience that transcended the confines of mere aesthetics.
These high-fidelity wireframes served as a bridge between our creative vision and the practical execution of the application. They enabled us to fine-tune every detail, from the look and feel to the user interactions, ensuring that the end result was a visually appealing, functionally robust, and user-friendly interface. In essence, this was the pivotal step in bringing our design concepts to life and creating an application that users would find both captivating and intuitive to navigate.
Usability Testing
I developed the application's prototype using Adobe XD, a crucial step in gaining a deeper understanding of how the app's functionality would operate during usability testing. Below, you'll find a video demonstration that offers a glimpse into the user experience.
Following the prototype's creation, I collaborated closely with my client to present and gather feedback from not only him but also other key stakeholders. This collaborative feedback session was instrumental in identifying areas for improvement and refining the application's design.
Subsequently, I conducted the first Usability Test with a group of four users. This critical step allowed us to gain valuable insights into how the application seamlessly integrated into their daily lives. The feedback and observations from this test informed subsequent iterations of the design.
With meticulous attention to the feedback and notes collected throughout the project, I proceeded to craft a final version of the application. Working closely with my client, I presented him with the polished design and ensured that all remaining loose ends were addressed, preparing the project for further funding and development.
Conclusion
This project was an exhilarating journey filled with both challenges and rewards. At the time, I was a relatively new user experience designer, and having the opportunity to craft the end-to-end experience of an entirely new application was profoundly satisfying.
One of the most enlightening aspects of this project was the direct feedback I received from my client, whose background in personal training and unwavering commitment to health and wellbeing added a unique perspective to the design process. His insights were invaluable and contributed significantly to the project's success.
Additionally, conducting Usability Tests and listening to user feedback was an eye-opening and continuously educational experience. Hearing firsthand what users had to say provided essential insights that guided our refinements and improvements.
All in all, this project stands out as one of my personal favorites. It pushed me out of my comfort zone, challenging me to create a minimalist yet highly intuitive application. Overcoming this significant challenge and delivering a project I'm genuinely proud of was an immensely rewarding experience. It underscored the importance of embracing challenges and continuously seeking growth in the field of user experience design.
