Make a DIFFERENCE with every workout you do!

The app that motivates users to stay active while making a difference in their communities and environment.

Case Study

My roles: UX researcher/Visual Designer.

Project duration: March. 2024 - April. 2024.

Responsibilities: Paper and digital wire framing, low and high-fidelity prototyping, conducting usability studies, accounting for accessibility, and iterating on designs.

Tools used: Figma, FigJam, Canva, Scketchbook, Adobe Firefly.

The Goal

My goal l is to create a fitness platform that empowers individuals to overcome time constraints, motivational barriers, and social anxiety, particularly in attending mutual classes or exercising in physically presented groups.

I aim to achieve this by providing seamless access to exercise routines that fit their schedule and location, and facilitating opportunities for them to make a meaningful social impact through charitable contributions.

Problem Statement

Many individuals struggle with time constraints, motivational barriers, and social anxiety when maintaining a regular exercise routine. Moreover, they seek a platform that enables them to seamlessly continue their fitness journey without altering their exercise schedule or location, connect with friends, and make a positive social impact.

I've embraced a thorough design thinking process to ensure the product truly meets users' needs and delivers a meaningful experience.

Design Thinking Process

… My fitness journey

began with the usual struggles of staying motivated and consistent with my workouts. Despite having a set schedule with friends, I often found myself exercising alone due to their inconsistent attendance. However, everything changed when I stumbled upon an Adidas campaign that pledged to clean the shores for every 30 minutes of exercise completed. Intrigued by the cause, I eagerly joined in, feeling a renewed sense of motivation and purpose in my workouts. Sharing my progress on social media not only garnered positive feedback but also inspired others to join the movement …

Following that personal experience and the great impact it had on my surroundings, I wondered how I could incorporate this into my daily routine.

So I opened my laptop to conduct further research that drove me to conduct a secondary research on this topic and an online survey.

After diving into various online sources, I've gathered valuable insights from reliable articles. Here's a glimpse into what I discovered during my secondary research journey.
 

Secondary Research

Insights

I conducted online research on fundraising trends, analyzing insights from a report on running events for charitable causes.

Source

A 2022 study by the National Library of Medicine examined how a donation model impacts exercise app adherence.
Involving 5618 users in a 14-day workout challenge, the study found that the donation-incentivized group had 1.8 times higher daily completion rates and completed more days overall than the self-reward group.
This indicates that the donation model effectively boosts adherence to exercise apps, offering valuable insights for enhancing user engagement in digital healthcare services.

Source

In 2017, Americans donated $287 billion to charity, reflecting their personal values.
The link between fitness goals and charity has historical roots in community survival.
Today, combining exercise with fundraising provides purpose, satisfaction, and motivation. The "martyrdom effect" suggests higher donations with personal sacrifice.
Non-profits have used athletic events for fundraising since the 1970s, and in 2017, the top 30 Peer-to-Peer campaigns raised over $1.4 billion. Fitness philanthropy, connecting personal well-being with charitable causes, is praised for its transformative impact. Crowdfunding has made fundraising accessible to everyone, allowing individuals to raise money for causes they care about.

Source

After conducting initial secondary research to gain a deeper understanding of the field and market landscape, I proceeded to engage real participants through an online survey.

Over the course of a week, I collected valuable insights from the survey questions, yielding the following results.

Quantitative Research & Insights

A total of 17 participants provided responses to 15 survey questions. The primary objective of sampling users through this survey was to gather information on their age, engagement in fitness activities, and the frequency of these activities.

The survey aimed to explore whether participants prefer working out alone or in a group, their perspectives on integrating fitness activities with donations, and the main challenges they face when exercising independently. I used an open ended and closed questions and therefore received more elaborative answers.

Main Insights:

The survey shows that many young adults, especially those aged 18-25, like doing individual workouts, such as cardio, weightlifting, and yoga. They are also interested in combining fitness with charity and find motivation in setting goals linked to charitable contributions. Understanding their preferences and challenges can help design fitness programs that suit their lifestyle and values.

Survey Form

Competitive Audit

Following the user survey, I conducted a competitor analysis to deepen my comprehension of similar apps currently available in the market, along with the companies behind them.

I assessed four websites operating in the market, some of which are indirect competitors, while others are direct. The evaluation focused on various aspects of each website, including their target audience, unique value proposition, product offerings, navigation, user flow, and more. You can access the complete competitor audit here:

JustGiving.com is a platform that enables individuals to fundraise for charitable causes by creating online donation pages. Users can set up fundraising campaigns for various causes and share them with their networks to collect donations. The platform also provides tools for charities to manage their fundraising efforts and engage with donors.
Charity Miles is a fitness app that allows users to earn money for charity by walking, running, or biking. Users select a charity from the app's list of partner organizations, track their physical activity using the app, and earn donations from corporate sponsors based on the distance covered. The app encourages users to stay active while supporting charitable causes.
WoofTrax is a mobile app designed to raise funds for animal shelters and rescue organizations. Users track their walks with their dogs using the app, and for every mile walked, WoofTrax makes a donation to a chosen animal charity. The app also provides information about nearby animal shelters and pet-related events.
Sweatcoin is a fitness app that incentivizes physical activity by rewarding users with a digital currency called "Sweatcoins" for every step they take outdoors. Users can exchange Sweatcoins for various rewards, including fitness gear, gadgets, and experiences. The app uses blockchain technology to verify and track outdoor steps, allowing users to earn rewards while staying active.

Full Analysis

Define Phase

The survey provided valuable insights into user preferences and behaviors, which were distilled into actionable personas. Analysis of the data revealed distinct user needs, preferences, and pain points, forming the basis for crafting detailed personas. Each persona represents a unique set of characteristics, goals, and challenges presented below.

User Persona

After creating the personas, the next step was to develop empathy maps and user journeys for each persona, starting with Amy, diving deep into what motivates her. Mapping out her thoughts and actions gave me valuable insights into her journey. Understanding Amy's perspective allowed me to enhance her experience with the app.

Ideate Phase

Design Phase

Hi-Fi Prototype

Accessibility and inclusivity

Touch Targets

As designers, we know how essential it is for users to effortlessly interact with our interfaces. They help us ensure our buttons and icons are not only visually appealing but also functional, meeting the guidelines for various platforms like iOS, Android, and web mobile. After all, our goal is to create seamless user experiences across all devices!
Touch Targets

Touch targets are essential elements in UI design, particularly for mobile and touchscreen interfaces. They represent interactive areas like buttons or icons. Ensuring they're adequately sized and spaced enhances usability and accessibility.
Typography

I utilized a typography analysis to enhance the interface's legibility. It's important because small text can be challenging to read.
Accessible contrast ratios

I incorporated contrast ratio analysis to improve the legibility of FIT4Good interface. It's crucial since insufficient contrast can make text difficult to read.

Key Takeaways

During the “Fit4Good” project", I learned how to combine fitness with doing good deeds. How helping the community can motivate you in every way.

Creating this app has been a wonderful opportunity for me to learn how to empathize with users, from the research phase to usability testing.

I have learned the significance of presenting and organizing information and content effectively on the product so it will enhance user experience, make the navigation better and increase engagement.

Testing is an essential part of any process, and it plays a critical role in ensuring the quality of the final product. By conducting thorough testing and consistently improving, we can identify and eliminate any usability issues, ultimately saving time and money, avoiding unnecessary rework in later stages, and iterating to enhance and deliver a successful user experience.

Even though Fit4Good might not become an actual product, it was really fulfilling and exciting to work on something for social good. I feel like I learned a lot from this project and had a great time doing it!

The Next Step

The next step in this case study involves implementing the insights and recommendations gathered from the usability testing process. This includes refining the app's design based on user feedback, addressing usability issues, and optimizing the user experience to better align with user needs and preferences.

Additionally, further testing and validation may be conducted to ensure that the proposed improvements effectively enhance the app's usability and overall user satisfaction.

By iteratively refining and enhancing the app based on user insights, we aim to create a more impactful and user-friendly experience for Fit4Good users.