MVP is a mobile fitness app that focuses on setting goals and connecting users for 'virtual' workout sessions. Following the Design Thinking process, I explored COVID-19's impact on Canadian millennials' physical activity. With a user-centric approach, I conducted research, interviews and usability testing to design this digital solution.
COVID-19 became a global health pandemic in 2020, putting a toll on everyone's physical, emotional and mental well-being, including myself. The social restrictions and gym closures caused me to exercise less, and lose motivation. I decided to research if other Canadian millennials experienced this same issue, and whether a mobile app could be the solution.
of Canadian millennials' physical activity were affected by the restrictions caused by COVID-19.
of Canadian millennials performed 2.5 hours of weekly moderate-to-vigorous physical activity before COVID-19.
of Canadian millennials performed 2.5 hours of weekly moderate-to-vigorous physical activity during COVID-19.
Performing 2.5 hours of weekly exercise provides health benefits, but those who met this threshold declined during the pandemic. Therefore, I wondered:
Did this data accurately represent the experiences that Canadian millennials faced? To answer this and understand who my potential users were, I interviewed five people. Out of three common themes, a key theme* was selected to begin guiding my design decisions.
My insights focused on social interaction and having fitness goals as main motivations for exercising. However, to encapsulate who my target users, their goals and pain points were, a persona was created. An experience map was also designed to depict my persona's current journey when searching for exercise motivation.
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At the point of discouragement is where I believed a digital solution could intervene. However, I had to author user stories first to describe how app features could deliver value for the persona. Categorized into groups or 'epics', I selected a primary epic* for the app's main task flow, as it closely aligned with the key theme. Some of these stories are below.
Since social connection emerged as the main exercise motivation during the interviews, the app's main task flow was designed around this. Having fitness goals for accountability was also a common theme, so integrating this as well would be valuable. This flow considers my persona's goals & pain points by enabling them to connect with friends, workout together and also set fitness goals when creating their profile.
Based on the flow, I sketched app screens and designed mid-fidelity wireframes, with elements inspired from apps such as Nike, Duolingo, and Discord.
I then conducted user testing on ten people over two rounds, which helped me learn more about my users, recognize any usability issues and discover areas for design improvements. After each round, design iterations were made that focused on the user's feedback, likes, and pain points.
As iterations concluded, I focused on styling the app. I curated a mood board of images that included the keywords "connected" & "fitness", and extracted brand, neutral and accent colours. Using a modern font, Bai Jamjuree, I created the wordmark MVP, an acronym for motivation, vision & purpose. These decisions were made to capture the interest of my target users.
With branding applied, the final version of MVP was complete. This fitness app intends to convey feelings of 'motivation', 'vision' and 'purpose' for millennials whose exercise routines were impacted by the pandemic. Users can add friends to stay connected, set fitness goals to be kept accountable, and complete virtual workouts with others to stay motivated.
Through extensive research, designs and wireframing, I took a user-centred problem and created a user-centred solution. I also ensured that I kept the user needs in mind by regularly going back and forth between the stages of the Design Thinking process while making design iterations.
