Details

Role: Researcher, Ideator, Interviewer, Insight Analyzer, UI design and Prototyper
Collaborators:
Individual Project
Timeline: 
8 months (undergrad thesis)
Tools:
Figma, Mural, CapCut

Recognizing the discomfort often associated with the presence of "gym bros," SheLifts provides a sanctuary for women to engage in fitness without the intimidation factor

Gym Bros? 🙅🏻‍♀️

The goal of this app was to integrate a unique way to discover and share music with friends. The origin of this problem occurred when I was browsing for music and I noticed there is no specific area to discover music and friends with similar music.

01. Summary

How might we create a supportive and welcoming environment to help young women (ages 18-25) overcome their nervousness and find confidence when building a gym community, making the process less daunting and more empowering?

Problem

Outcome

A mobile app empowering young women with easy access to curated workouts, addressing gym-related anxiety and promoting goal-oriented fitness journeys

02. Why Overcoming Gym Intimidation?

53%

Feel pressured to wear specific attire

03. Hypothesis

The gym environment can be intimidating and uncomfortable for women due to societal perceptions and stereotypes. Overcoming these barriers is essential for promoting overall well-being and encouraging women to engage in fitness activities for a healthier lifestyle

33%

Fear feeling out of place

32%

Identify 'intimidation in the gym' as the main barrier

  1. By providing access to tailored workouts, the app will reduce intimidation by equipping women with the knowledge and confidence

  2. Diverse workout options = increased engagement

  3. Providing the option for users to work out at home or in groups will enhance accessibility and flexibility

04. Why Solve This Problem?

Solving the problem of gym intimidation for women is crucial for fostering inclusivity and promoting their overall well-being. By creating a more welcoming environment, we empower women to embrace fitness activities, leading to healthier lifestyles and increased confidence in their journey toward wellness.

05. What Does Success Look Like? 

Success entails the creation of a supportive fitness community that empowers women, reduces intimidation, and cultivates a sense of belonging. The goal is for women to feel confident, valued, and supported in pursuing their fitness goals within the gym environment.

  • An app designed to alleviate the initial intimidation women may feel when starting their fitness journey.

  • Retention. An app that users can use and come back to any time.

06. Potential Barriers

Crafting an empathy map and highlighting specific barriers encountered by users, enhanced my understanding of the challenges faced by young women in overcoming nervousness and building confidence within a gym community.

Lack of Female Representation
Struggling with a lack of relatable female role models or mentors within the gym community


Intimidation by Gym Culture
Feeling overwhelmed or intimidated


Fear of Judgment
Judgment from others based on appearance, fitness level, or exercise techniques


Time Constraint
Juggling busy schedules and struggling to find time for a gym schedule


No Workout Buddy
Struggling with the absence of a workout buddy may lead to a lack of motivation and accountability


Limited Bonding Opportunities

07. Research

I conducted user testing with women aged 18-25 to gather their preferences and ideas, ensuring objectivity and avoiding personal bias, as I am passionate about this topic and aim to eliminate gym intimidation.

In the co-creation process, participants responded to three questions centered around crafting an ideal gym buddy or environment.

During the testing phase, I encouraged users to freely express their thoughts, ideas, and challenges, providing valuable insights into their perspectives.

  1. Design a Workout Buddy
    Draw or describe an imaginary workout buddy that represents your ideal partner. This can represent encouragement, support, features in an individual, and more.

  2. New Favourite Gym
    You walk into a brand new gym and it becomes your new favourite gym. Draw or describe your ideal gym. This can include features, the size, the amount of people, who you are with, etc.

  3. Preferred Digital Community
    Draw or describe how you envision a supportive online community within a fitness app or website. This can include features and/or the overall style of the digital product.

Through thorough insights and research, three personas were crafted, targeting key barriers women face in their fitness journeys.

08. Personas

This SheLifts user journey underscores essential features and actions, emphasizing personalization, collaboration, and community building at each stage.

09. User Flows

My initial target audience was women ages 18-25 who might find it challenging or daunting to go to the gym. To validate and help make sure my target audience is narrowed down, I observed the everyday life of people in the gym. As I went to the gym for a couple of weeks, I took notes and wrote down observations of the gym culture and if there were any points I missed.


This helped me get a sense of who I might need to target my application toward. Some questions I asked myself were:

  • Do I need to broaden my age range

  • Should I take into account that some people might want to workout, but can’t? (physical ailment or inability to travel)

  • Are gym stereotypes still a thing for men and women?


Because of these questions, it got me thinking if I needed to change my user definition. After careful consideration, I chose to keep my target audience for now. I want to appeal to a specific audience, so that I can keep the numbers and research small, broadening the scope to other ages could happen in the future.

10. User Definition

Before delving into low-fidelity sketches and visualizing the application, I conducted brief card-sorting tests to observe how users categorized various gym terms and topics. This will benefit my future prototype, particularly regarding workout searches or specific types.

11. Card Sorting

12. Style Guide

13. Low Fidelity & High Fidelity

Here are some iterations and potential layouts for the specified tasks/features

Homepage & Onboarding

Dashboard

Homepage & Onboarding

Calendar & Profile

14. Card Sorting & A/B Testing

I conducted card sorting activities and A/B Testing to help me figure out the visuals and overall flow of the app. My plan is to take the results and then use them to create a final working prototype to take the application to the next and final step.

Card Sorting

A/B Testing

From those quick testing sessions, I was able to change some layouts and colors and piece together my final screens and prototype.

15. Features & Prototype

To enhance the functionality, I prototyped the application for certain features.

Feature 1:

Browsing workouts and custom search filters.

Feature 2:

The core mission of Shelifts is to assist young women in overcoming intimidation and lack of knowledge in fitness, especially beginners. Offering detailed workout lists and instructions empowers women to confidently engage in exercise.

Feature 2:

The core mission of Shelifts is to assist young women in overcoming intimidation and lack of knowledge in fitness, especially beginners. Offering detailed workout lists and instructions empowers women to confidently engage in exercise.

16. Product Video

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