london, uk
I looked at other fitness and community apps with similar gamification elements. I compared their business models and categorised them by popularity to have a better picture of what seems to work or not.
After finalising the MVP feature set I came up with a budget estimate and project timeline. When it all get signed off the project was ready to kick off!
We conducted a couple of interviews with people in the target age range to learn about their health habits. We gained insights into how they used technology (which was more then I expected). We also discussed what would motivate them to participate in the types of challenges the app would feature.
A Graphic Designer who previously designed the logo proposed a brand identity resembling high intensity sports brands. I suggested that this visual direction might not have been suitable for the brand. The app promotes time spent outdoors and with community, where the most intense activity is hike.
I put together a few moodboards with different fonts, colour palettes and UI styles so the client had more control over the direction than simply pitching them my favourite style.
While I was researching other apps, I noticed how painfully long and difficult the onboarding was. Having to create an account and confirm various permissions would sometimes discourage me from giving the app even a try.
User Interviews also showed us that the older generation is very careful with whom they share their personal details with.
After trying to make registration as easy as possible we decided to allow users to access the app without having a profile. The only onboarding screen is to set the main activity goal.
Of course, we wanted users to create an account, but we thought to ask them to register more carefully after they familiarised themselves with the app. For example, a user may be asked if they want to use detailed stats of their activity, then prompted to create an account to access the feature.
Many apps overwhelm us with multiple permission pop-ups right at the beginning when we have no context, so we’re unsure why the app needs to access so many things. Asking for permissions only when it’s needed gives users an easy explanation as to why it’s needed.
There is also a paid tier but we didn’t want to scare people off by showing it right at the beginning. There is no paywall in accessing all the app has to offer. However, if you are a long-term user you might want to have some premium features you are happy to pay a little something for.
After comparing various different layouts, and category tabs, a winner became clear, not only for the simplicity but also because it’s a pattern people are used to.
