Year
2025
Duration
1 Year
Role
UX Researcher & Product Designer
Software
Project
Gym Motivation Application
Design a mobile application that addresses barriers to consistent gym attendance by fostering social motivation, environmental accountability, and rewarding fitness behaviors.
PRODUCT DESIGN
Summary
This project explores how a mobile application can enhance gym attendance and engagement by tackling two primary challenges: lack of social support and environmental factors. Through a user-centered design approach, I conducted research, co-design sessions, and expert interviews to identify real user needs and motivations. The resulting app integrates features such as QR check-ins, friend activity feeds, challenges, and locker cleanliness verification to promote social accountability, gamified motivation, and a well-maintained gym environment. The design was validated through an interactive university exhibition, where audience feedback confirmed the effectiveness of these solutions in fostering community, encouraging consistent workouts, and rewarding responsible behaviors.
Challenge
Problem
Who is affected?
Underlying Reason
Design Process
01
Empathize
02
Define
03
Ideate
04
Prototype
05
Test
01 EMPATHIZE
The Shift in Perspective
The first step of my design process focused on understanding rather than assuming. Many gym users struggle with consistency. This challenge is often framed as a problem of discipline or time management. However, rather than accepting these surface-level explanations, I set out to uncover what truly disrupts commitment to a workout routine.
01 EMPATHIZE
Research Approach
Informal Interviews
Capture real, unfiltered user stories.
Semi-structured Conversations
Explore emotional and social patterns.
Literature Review
Understand psychological factors behind motivation.
Co-Design Workshop
Engage users as collaborators, not subjects.
01 EMPATHIZE
A Closer Look at the Co-Design Workshop
While surveys and interviews revealed surface-level patterns, I facilitated a co-design session to uncover deeper emotional and behavioural drivers behind gym attendance.
Designed the workshop structure and activities
Facilitated group discussions and exercises
Guided prioritization and decision-making
Synthesized emerging themes and behavioral patterns
The workshop brought together six regular gym-goers aged 18–35. All participants attended the gym at least twice a week and represented diverse academic backgrounds.
This age group was intentionally selected due to fluctuating intrinsic motivation and schedule pressure, making consistency a common challenge.
In addition, I conducted a separate semi-structured interview with an experienced gym coach to validate and deepen the behavioral findings from the workshop.
01 EMPATHIZE
Workshop Flow: Step by Step
1.Creating Psychological Safety
We began with an icebreaker and informal introductions. Participants shared how often they go to the gym and how they generally feel about their routines.
This step helped establish trust and encouraged open participation.
2.Externalizing Experiences
Participants individually documented their positive and negative gym experiences.
To visually structure the discussion, positive experiences were placed on a green board and negative experiences on a red board.
This visual separation helped balance emotional responses and prevented the conversation from becoming overly problem-focused.
3.From Experiences to Problems
After reviewing shared experiences, participants identified at least three concrete challenges they personally encountered at the gym.
This activity helped move the discussion from broad storytelling to clearly articulated problem statements.
4. Democratic Prioritization
Each participant presented the problem they believed was most important.
Through structured voting, the group collectively selected the issue that felt most impactful and worth exploring further.
This ensured ownership of the problem definition and avoided facilitator bias.
5. Collaborative Ideation
The session concluded with a focused brainstorming exercise addressing the selected issue.
Participants generated potential solutions and discussed what kind of intervention would feel realistic and supportive in their daily routines.
Notably, the preference for a mobile-based solution emerged organically from participants rather than being introduced as a predefined outcome.
02 DEFINE
From Patterns to Clarity
Building on the insights gathered during the Empathize phase, I shifted from understanding individual experiences to identifying patterns across the research. By clustering observations from interviews, co-design sessions, and secondary research, clearer themes began to emerge. The Define phase focused on distilling these themes into a focused design challenge that could guide meaningful solutions.
02 DEFINE
Key Insights
Gym-goers struggle with consistency due
to emotional and environmental barriers.
The gym environment affects motivation,
comfort, and overall experience.
Lack of social support and accountability
lowers long-term commitment.
Existing fitness apps largely ignore
social and behavioural needs.
03 IDEATE
Turning Insights into Solution Directions
Building on insights from the Empathize and Define phases, I focused on the key barriers preventing consistent gym attendance. Two themes stood out: lack of social support, which leaves users feeling isolated and unmotivated, and environmental factors, as aspects like cleanliness and space directly affect comfort and engagement. These findings became the foundation for ideation and guided the exploration of practical solutions to improve the overall gym experience.
03 IDEATE
Sketches
Initial sketches were used to explore the structure of the experience and map potential user flows. The focus was on testing how social support, rewards, and environmental responsibility could fit into a seamless gym journey.
03 IDEATE
User Flow
The user flow was designed as a motivational loop rather than a linear interaction. From check-in to check-out, the experience integrates social visibility, rewards, and environmental accountability. By reinforcing positive actions — such as workout completion and responsible locker use — through points and peer activity updates, the system encourages consistent gym attendance through behavioral reinforcement rather than discipline alone.
04 Prototype
Translating the User Flow into Interface Screens
Based on the user flow developed in the previous stage, I created a set of low-fidelity prototype screens to explore how the experience would translate into a mobile interface.
These early screens focus on the core interactions of the system — check-in, social visibility, rewards, and responsible check-out — while keeping the interface intentionally simple to prioritize structure and functionality over visual styling.
05 TEST
Concept Validation through Exhibition Feedback
Following the development of the low-fidelity prototype, the project was presented at a university design exhibition in early September. Rather than conducting a formal usability test with a fully functional application, the exhibition served as an opportunity to gather early feedback on the proposed concepts and features. Visitors explored the design boards presenting the full process from initial user insights to the proposed app features, and shared their reactions to ideas such as social motivation, activity tracking, friendly competition, and environmental responsibility within the gym experience.
05 TEST
Key Observation
• Social visibility features were perceived as motivating for maintaining gym routines
• The reward system linked to energy generation was considered engaging and innovative
• The locker cleanliness reminder raised awareness about shared responsibility in gym spaces
Final Takeaway
This project demonstrates how design thinking and participatory methods can transform user insights into meaningful digital solutions. By focusing on social motivation, environmental responsibility, and behavioral reinforcement, the proposed concept moves beyond traditional fitness tracking. Ultimately, it highlights how thoughtful UX design can support long-term engagement and healthier habits in everyday life.
