FitBook
Health has become important more than ever, especially in a world where COVID-19 and community lockdowns exist. While we can boost our immunity system through regular intake of health supplements, it is crucial that we stay fit and active all throughout. FitBook is designed focusing on users who are frustrated with getting, and staying fit during & after COVID-19.
Empathizing, Defining
8 people were interviewed whom came from different backgrounds - students and working adults - in order to uncover their motivation on working out and what hurdles do they experience especially in the time where community quarantines exist. Sticky notes through affinity maps were utilized to understand patterns and relationships on the inputs collected, and to identify underlying themes.
To properly form & determine the problem statement, Point-of-View (POV) statements were formulated, and madlibs were used to summarize those:​​
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A teenager who needs to learn how to properly execute exercises because he wants to build muscles at home.
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A worker who needs to exercise/workout with enough space so he can achieve his ideal weight and figure.
Ideation
From the Madlibs formulated, 13 “How Might We” statements were constructed; and then, worst possible ideas were used to creatively generate and explore solutions. The goal is to ensure that those worst possible ideas are converted into better concepts that purposefully address the above problem statements, and voilà, the FitBook concept is born.
FitBook: Book a Gym or Coach
Just like Airbnb or Grab, FitBook is designed to book gyms and online coaches so you can either perform proper work-out with enough space & equipments safely at gyms or learn working out via online meet-up. One of the frustrations of the interviewees is that while there are already a wealth of information online about working out, they seem to contradict with each other. So, having a dedicated online coach will help educate the user on proper execution and even monitor the user's fitness goals.
FitBook puts safety and cleanliness at the forefront by ensuring gyms follow the COVID-19 protocols before they are registered to the app and granted with medals. This is designed in such a way that users’ confidence and trust will be improved increasingly as they use the app. Users can also put reviews as a way to give feedback.
FitBook also aims on helping gyms and coaches to reach and get clients during and after COVID-19. It’s extremely important to design an app that is pandemic-proof.
Prototype & Testing
The design of FitBook is inspired by popular applications such as Airbnb, Grab and Klook where you can book rooms, cars, and activities, respectively. The main color used is green as it represents health, excitement, optimism and energy, and is combined with black, dark grey and white.
Adobe XD is used to build the prototype while following the iOS’ design principles and guidelines. The same set of 8 interviewees were invited to test the prototype and it garnered several feedback:
Some positive feedback:
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“It’s great that ‘Book Now’ button is sticked at the bottom so that it’s convenient once I’m ready to book a coach or gym.”
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“I like the search bar that it shows the types of activities available in the app.”
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“It’s good that I can chat with the gym and coach before I book them so I can ask questions.”
Some points for improvement:
1. “As a user, I need to select meeting options for the coaches so I can ensure that I have an account for it.”
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This important feature is incorporated so users can select a preferred communication tool.
2. “Can the app remind me through notification of an upcoming booking?”
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The notifications page was added so users can view booking confirmation and reminders.
Some laws of UX applied:
1. Fitt’s law
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“Book Now” button is locked at the bottom of the screen for accessibility, and to reduce distance to be traveled by the user.
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All buttons are consistently shaped with round corners so it can be easily distinguished as command buttons.
2. Jakob’s law
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FitBook is designed in such a way that it feels familiar as it took ideas from Airbnb and Grab. This is tested with the users and they said that the application can be easily navigated because it feels standard.
Retrospective
Designing a fitness application in the time of COVID-19 is both exciting and challenging. There are already a ton of fitness mobile apps available out there, so it’s important to conceptualize an app that is unique while aimed at addressing new problems brought by COVID-19.
In the Philippines, gyms and coaches are one of the most-hit industry due to community lockdowns, and they have been trying to regain all their losses since they re-opened last September 2020. It is still a challenge especially that fitness enthusiasts are currently hesitant to go to their favorite gyms.
The interviews during the empathy stage made me realize that assurance of safety at physical gyms, and introducing newbies to online coaches are the necessities to motivate Filipinos in staying fit. There are currently no gym booking app in the Philippines, so it’s a great opportunity to start it now. It is crucial for the app to establish a registration and monitoring process at gyms to ensure that they follow COVID-19 protocols and that they are putting safety and cleanliness at the forefront.
I learned that while FitBook is targeting to address new problems caused by COVID-19, it’s still important that the app is usable even post-pandemic. Since it is a booking app, gyms and coaches can still opt to keep their profiles on FitBook to serve as booking management system and marketing campaigns for reaching out to potential customers.
Screenshots
References
Cherry, K. (2020, January 24). "The Color Psychology of Green." Verywell mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/color-psychology-green-
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