GoodLife Health Club App: Project Summary

The following project summary details the design process adopted in the development of my Good Life Health Club App.

The Client

Goodlife Health Club is recognised as one of the most popular health clubs currently assisting 300,000 members develop more active and healthy lifestyles. Good Life is fully equiped to help members reach their fitness goals and improve their health, with over 85 locations Australia wide. The gym offers various services including several different memberships, an annual 8 week challenge, and niche classes (Good Life Health Club, n.d.).

The Problem

Statistics show that 1 in 16 Australians are affected by depression every year, and the prevalence of obesity among Australians has risen by a substantial 31% since 1995 (AIHW 2020). Although these medical conditions occur due a myriad of different reasons, they unite in factor; exercise. In this case, Good Life Health Club can be leveraged.

Exercise can provide the following benefits:

Exercising increases the level of endorphins in the brain, which helps uplift one’s mood.

Undertaking regular exercise provides a sense of control, as individuals feel that they are taking control to better their health and wellbeing.

Exercising distracts individuals of their current worries and concerns.

Exercising not only reduces ‘fat mass’ but reduces one’s risk of developing more life threatening diseases.

Target Market

After conducting client and topic research, an analysis of effective existing concepts, and investigation into current and upcoming design trends, user group research was performed through qualitative and quantitative methods.

The following User Groups were identified:

1. Medical Practitioners
2. Personal Trainers located in rural Australia
3. Patients

With reference to the interviews (qualitative) and survey (quantitative) research, a quick findings report was then developed. This report detailed 5 key findings, along with associated implications and design ideas.

The following key findings were solidified:

1. Participants lack motivation.
2. Exercising with another person or group is both beneficial and motivating.
3. Participants feel uplifted after exercising.
4. Participants want tailored information.
5. Participants have average health.

By understanding the factors that drive, motivate, detract and hinder users from exercising, I was able to effectively delineate favourable UI features, components and functions.

User Personas

I then created four provisional personas of potential users based on the user groups identified above, to solidify my understanding of the who I am designing for; their goals, frustrations, personality, motivations and experience with technology. Rather than purely relying on assumption, these personas were created based on findings gathered from my qualitative and quantitative research, and were also referenced when creating user scenarios. Ultimately, the user personas were a fundamental aspect of the process, as I often found myself coming back to these for guidance and direction in terms of design decisions and priorities.

User Personas 1 and 2

User Personas 3 and 4

Defining User Goals

The amalgamation of the steps taken above finally allowed me to delineate certain user goals. The four primary user goals were:

1. Receive tailored information.
2. To improve mental and physical health.
3. Be provided with reliable and accurate statistics.
4. Gain access to trainers who can effectively guide and educate.

Design Principles

In order to successfully address the user goals, I collated a list of principles that I affirmed to abide by and implement when designing and developing.

• Simplicity –– Users should be able to navigate the app without confusion. Users should not be required to learn new patters.
• Personalisation and Customisation –– In alignment with the identified user goals, users should be offered a personalised experience; one that addressed the differing needs of every individual.
• Adherence to App Design Conventions and Consideration of Trends –– Conventions should be leveraged to reduce learnability, increase familiarity and thus enhance usability. Implementation of trends should be considered with the target audience in mind.

Storyboarding

I created two storyboards to explore user’s interaction with the app. Both storyboards showcase the varying circumstances in which a user may leverage the app. Specific features are also detailed. Essentially, the storyboards zoom into the life of a potential user; I attempted to illustrate how the app not only fits into the user’s life, but enhances it.

Storyboard 1 and 2

Ideation

Prior to conducting user research, I created several wireframes showcasing the layout and features of potential screens. As these purely focused on aesthetic and visual style, a second series of wireframes were then developed. The refined series of wireframes accounted for the insights gathered in the user research, quick findings report, user personas, user scenarios and user goals. As such, I was able to narrow down potential screens and truly hone into developing features that aligned with and responded to my user’s goals.

A/B Split Testing

Put simply, A/B Split Testing was conducted by showcasing two variations of one screen, and understanding why users leaned to one, more than the other. This process was extremely insightful; in fact, my key finding was that across all three screens, variation 2 was received more favourably. I also learnt that elements that exist for decoration purposes but serve no functionality should be eliminated.

Screen 1, variation 1 (left) and variation 2 (right)

Screen 2, variation 1 (left) and variation 2 (right)

Screen 3, variation 1 (left) and variation 2 (right)

User Research

Conducting a final user test allowed me to validate assumptions and ensured optimum flow of my prototype. This stage was crucial, as many changes that enhanced usability and navigation were implemented, based on user feedback.

Final Prototype

I devised a final revised prototype that accounted for the insights gathered in the user testing phase.

Reflection

Challenges

The primary challenge I faced was attempting to input numerous features, without ‘crowding’ the app. My app was quite content heavy therefore the major struggle was trying to find a balance. I wanted to create an app that had the power to educate users, transform their lives and help them achieve their health goals, without being too overwhelming.

This ‘balance; was eventually achieved by giving priority to those features that best aligned, with, addressed and satisfied the user goals. Features secondary to this were most often sacrificed, also due to time constraints.

Successes

I can confidently state that my final app prototype successfully addresses the 4 user goals.

• Receive tailored information –– During the onboarding process, users are asked a series of questions that relate to their personal health. These questions regard the user’s goal and what they need help with most, their health status and relationship with exercising. This data is then utilised to create a customised feed; users can view workouts based on their goals and refine their search using filters to receive tailored results.
• Be provided with reliable and accurate statistics –– The analytics page provides users with relevant health statistics such as an in-depth of the users steps, their heart rate and calories burned. These statistics are extremely relevant and of great use to those suffering from obesity; one my dominant user groups. In the preferences panel, users also have the option to ‘sync with Apple Watch’ which when switched on, provides even more detailed personal health analytics.
• Gain access to trainers who can effectively guide and educate –– The livestream feature enables users to access quality content from professionals who are committed to health and fitness. Live videos can also be saved and accessed from the ‘saved’ tab for users to watch at their convenience. Live videos are available to every user, thus engaging in live videos also helps build connection and interaction with others wanting to achieve similar health goals.
• To improve mental and physical health — Finally, every aspect listed above was created with the intention to improve the user’s mental and physical health. Thus, every aspect of the app works to better the user’s health and wellness and thus enhance their quality of life.

Screens from the final prototype

Improvements

Overall, If I had more time to work on this project I would have liked to expand and iterate upon the following areas.

• I believe that given more time, I could have elevated the animations and micro-interactions to create a more engaging experience and draw attention to specific elements. In doing so, a visual hierarchy may also have been more evident.
• I would have liked to abide by minimalism more closely, in order to direct users attention to the content on hand.
• Attaining health goals is tedious and requires motivation, therefore the implementation of scheduled reminders may be beneficial.
• Make the design as frictionless as possible by eradicating unnecessary elements.

Thank you for reading!