Rapid: The ultimate health tracking app that brings fitness progress and social support together, empowering users to improve their well-being within a thriving community.
Rapid: The ultimate health tracking app that brings fitness progress and social support together, empowering users to improve their well-being within a thriving community.
Role: UX/UI Designer, solo student project
Timeline: 4 weeks
RAPID
The Challenge.
The Challenge.
Rapid is an app that aims to create a vibrant user community and motivate users to achieve their fitness goals. However, the app has been facing the issue of user disengagement, with many users uninstalling the app after just three weeks. The lack of motivation and engagement in the app has been discouraging users from returning, resulting in low user retention rates.
Rapid is an app that aims to create a vibrant user community and motivate users to achieve their fitness goals. However, the app has been facing the issue of user disengagement, with many users uninstalling the app after just three weeks. The lack of motivation and engagement in the app has been discouraging users from returning, resulting in low user retention rates.
Users ability to message other members to gather tips and and general advice to achieve a certain goal is now possible, users are also able to now subscribe and unsubscribe on receiving notification of other goals.
Seamless messaging and goal notifications management.
Users ability to message other members to gather tips and and general advice to achieve a certain goal is now possible, users are also able to now subscribe and unsubscribe on receiving notification of other goals.
Users ability to message other members to gather tips and and general advice to achieve a certain goal is now possible, users are also able to now subscribe and unsubscribe on receiving notification of other goals.
Seamless messaging and goal notifications management.
Seamless messaging and goal notifications management.
Users are able to share their runs live and let others comment on your performance, getting motivational messages and creating engagement from users by pure curiosity.
Go live on runs + Live chat
Users are able to share their runs live and let others comment on your performance, getting motivational messages and creating engagement from users by pure curiosity.
Users are able to share their runs live and let others comment on your performance, getting motivational messages and creating engagement from users by pure curiosity.
Go live on runs + Live chat
A central area where users now explore users achievements and daily progression. This includes those that you aren't subscribed to and could be interesting for you to follow.
Town square of the community
The Solution
Sending goals and achievements
Previously, users lacked motivation in the app primarily due to the absence of accountability. With the introduction of a new sharing feature users are now able to easily share and celebrate of goals and daily accomplishments, Adding a layer to accountability to make their goals truly achievable.
The Solution
The Solution
Sending goals and achievements
Sending goals and achievements
Previously, users lacked motivation in the app primarily due to the absence of accountability. With the introduction of a new sharing feature users are now able to easily share and celebrate of goals and daily accomplishments, Adding a layer to accountability to make their goals truly achievable.
Previously, users lacked motivation in the app primarily due to the absence of accountability. With the introduction of a new sharing feature users are now able to easily share and celebrate of goals and daily accomplishments, Adding a layer to accountability to make their goals truly achievable.
A central area where users now explore users achievements and daily progression. This includes those that you aren't subscribed to and could be interesting for you to follow.
Town square of the community
The Secondary Research
The Secondary Research
“These findings suggest that social support is important for increasing physical activity and healthy behavior”
-Sullivan & Lachman, 2017
Having a well-defined problem scope enabled me to delve deeper into my secondary research. I aimed to comprehend the lifecycle of motivation, including its initiation, sustenance, and eventual decline. Given the vast array of behavioral types, I felt the need to thoroughly prepare by conducting extensive research in order to approach my interviewees with informed questions.
Discoveries
Achieving goals
Users often get hyped up in the first week but quickly loose motivation and give up on goal
A lot of people get demotivated because they lack the right type of knowledge on training
Celebrating small wins along the way can boost motivation and create positive momentum
Having an overly competitive space could demotivate users due to users comparing themselves too heavily to others
Having a supportive a community and friends that motivate you increases possibility of entering good habits
Often feedback on progress and stats help users perform better
Communication
Having an overly competitive space could demotivate users due to users comparing themselves too heavily to others
Having a supportive a community and friends that motivate you increases possibility of entering good habits
Often feedback on progress and stats help users perform better
Communication
Achieving goals
Users often get hyped up in the first week but quickly loose motivation and give up on goal
A lot of people get demotivated because they lack the right type of knowledge on training
Celebrating small wins along the way can boost motivation and create positive momentum
Achieving goals
Users often get hyped up in the first week but quickly loose motivation and give up on goal
A lot of people get demotivated because they lack the right type of knowledge on training
Celebrating small wins along the way can boost motivation and create positive momentum
Having a supportive a community and friends that motivate you increases possibility of entering good habits
Often feedback on progress and stats help users perform better
Having an overly competitive space could demotivate users due to users comparing themselves too heavily to others
Communication
Interviews
How do competitors facilitate and motivate users to achieve their goals?
Understand the factors that contribute to making a healthy and thriving community
Goal of the analysis
SWOT Analysis
User-friendly interface that makes it easy to track and analyze data
Integration with other fitness apps and devices
Motivational tools such as challenges, leaderboards, and social features
Strength
Overcomplicating the user interface, making it difficult to navigate and use
Buggy or unreliable performance that leads to frustration and mistrust
Odd flows and lack intuitiveness
Weaknesses
Resources to empower users on how do achieve goals could help
Gamifying an experience could be interesting and engage more users
In app messaging and other forms of interaction
Opportunities
Gamification could lead to mass deletion of the app due to mental health issues
Large user base and have control of a majority of the market
Other apps have alot of data on user already
Threats
During my secondary research, I observed a significant presence of numerical data in papers discussing product and service performance within the goal achievement and health domain. Motivated by this, I opted for a SWOT analysis, as its systematic approach enables a thorough examination of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. By exploring various apps, I aimed to gain insights into common features and elements used to guide users while improving my understanding of the field.
Nike run club App
Productive App
Map My Run App
Strava
Productive app
NIKE Run Club
Mao My Run App
STRAVA
Apps
Apps
Apps
In app messaging
Other users accomplishments
Wide range of inputs
Community engagement
Activity monitoring
“I was all excited in the beginning but after a few days of working out the end goal looked farther and farther way ” - USER #3
“I was all excited in the beginning but after a few days of working out the end goal looked farther and farther way ” - USER #3
“ No one really knew about how hard i was training other than my girlfriend, although her support was amazing i feel like if had talked to friends and stuff i would have achieved so much more and faster ” USER #8
“ No one really knew about how hard i was training other than my girlfriend, although her support was amazing i feel like if had talked to friends and stuff i would have achieved so much more and faster ” USER #8
“ It was the first time i had road cycled i didnt know anyone in the sport, looked on the internet for guides to training and ended up over doing my calf, im sure that wouldnt have happened if i met someone in my area that had gone up that hill before ” USER #10
“ It was the first time i had road cycled i didnt know anyone in the sport, looked on the internet for guides to training and ended up over doing my calf, im sure that wouldnt have happened if i met someone in my area that had gone up that hill before ” USER #10
Afinnity mapping
Afinnity mapping
To organize and prioritize my findings, I utilized an affinity map, categorizing them into key groups. I was pleasantly surprised by how the interviews and secondary research seamlessly wove together the narrative of motivation, accountability, and community. This synthesis provided valuable clarity and direction to my research. I then categorized and divided the commonly recurring information into three distinct groups.
To organize and prioritize my findings, I utilized an affinity map, categorizing them into key groups. I was pleasantly surprised by how the interviews and secondary research seamlessly wove together the narrative of motivation, accountability, and community. This synthesis provided valuable clarity and direction to my research. I then categorized and divided the commonly recurring information into three distinct groups.
Interviews
Questions that i came up with from my secondary research:
Tell me about a goal you've achieved before.
Tell me about how you achieved that goal and what motivated you.
Tell me about a time you didn't achieve your goals.
What could have made you be able to achieve the goal you weren't able to accomplish?
After analyzing the numbers and data, I sought to incorporate human experiences into my research, aiming to align it with the needs of real-life users. While I had captured both the broader context and finer details, I felt the need to further enhance my understanding of users' genuine desires.
After analyzing the numbers and data, I sought to incorporate human experiences into my research, aiming to align it with the needs of real-life users. While I had captured both the broader context and finer details, I felt the need to further enhance my understanding of users' genuine desires.
end
flip
mute
effects
Camera Off
Speaker
Questions that i came up with from my secondary research:
Tell me about a goal you've achieved before
Tell me about how you achieved that goal and what motivated you
Tell me about a time you didn't achieve your goals
What could have made you be able to achieve the goal you weren't able to accomplish?
My Main findings
Tracking some sort of progress rewarded them
Users were scared of what would happen to them if not being able achieve their goal
Many users where motivated by the possibility of celebrating their accomplishments
Motivation
Users experience social pressure to perform by other people
Many users over thought their plans and ended up underachieving and dis motivating them
User where given advice by people who have achieved similar goals. Facilitating the goal achieved.
Community engagement
Users felt lost by and unsure of how to achieve new specific goals
Users felt a lack of support and lack of motivation to stand up and achieve goals
Sharing goals with users created accountability and even competitiveness
Competence
Motivation, accountability and user engagement were things that were being looked over.
Interviews
How do competitors facilitate and motivate users to achieve their goals?
Understand the factors that contribute to making a healthy and thriving community
Goal of the analysis
SWOT Analysis
User-friendly interface that makes it easy to track and analyze data
Integration with other fitness apps and devices
Motivational tools such as challenges, leaderboards, and social features
Strength
Overcomplicating the user interface, making it difficult to navigate and use
Buggy or unreliable performance that leads to frustration and mistrust
Odd flows and lack intuitiveness
Weeknesses
Resources to empower users on how do achieve goals could help
Gamifying an experience could be interesting and engage more users
In app messaging and other forms of interaction
Opportunities
Gamification could lead to mass deletion of the app due to mental health issues
Large user base and have control of a majority of the market
Other apps have alot of data on user already
Threats
During my secondary research, I observed a significant presence of numerical data in papers discussing product and service performance within the goal achievement and health domain. Motivated by this, I opted for a SWOT analysis, as its systematic approach enables a thorough examination of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. By exploring various apps, I aimed to gain insights into common features and elements used to guide users while improving my understanding of the field.
Productive app
NIKE Run Club
Mao My Run App
STRAVA
Apps
Apps
Apps
In app messaging
Other users accomplishments
Wide range of inputs
Community engagement
Activity monitoring
My Main findings
Many users over thought their plans and ended up underachieving and dis motivating them
Users felt lost by and unsure of how to achieve new specific goals
Users felt a lack of support and lack of motivation to stand up and achieve goals
Competence
Users experience social pressure to perform by other people
User where given advice by people who have achieved similar goals. Facilitating the goal achieved.
Community engagement
Sharing goals with users created accountability and even competitiveness
Tracking some sort of progress rewarded them
Users were scared of what would happen to them if not being able achieve their goal
Many users where motivated by the possibility of celebrating their accomplishments
Motivation
Motivation, accountability and user engagement were things that were being looked over.
My Main findings
Many users over thought their plans and ended up underachieving and dis motivating them
Users felt lost by and unsure of how to achieve new specific goals
Users felt a lack of support and lack of motivation to stand up and achieve goals
Competence
Users experience social pressure to perform by other people
User where given advice by people who have achieved similar goals. Facilitating the goal achieved.
Community engagement
Sharing goals with users created accountability and even competitiveness
Tracking some sort of progress rewarded them
Users were scared of what would happen to them if not being able achieve their goal
Many users where motivated by the possibility of celebrating their accomplishments
Motivation
Motivation, accountability and user engagement were things that were being looked over.
Tracking some sort of progress rewarded them
Users were scared of what would happen to them if not being able achieve their goal
Many users where motivated by the possibility of celebrating their accomplishments
Motivation
Users experience social pressure to perform by other people
User where given advice by people who have achieved similar goals. Facilitating the goal achieved.
Community engagement
Sharing goals with users created accountability and even competitiveness
Many users over thought their plans and ended up underachieving and dis motivating them
Users felt lost by and unsure of how to achieve new specific goals
Users felt a lack of support and lack of motivation to stand up and achieve goals
Competence
Motivation, accountability and user engagement were things that were being looked over.
Tracking some sort of progress rewarded them
Users were scared of what would happen to them if not being able achieve their goal
Many users where motivated by the possibility of celebrating their accomplishments
Motivation
Users experience social pressure to perform by other people
User where given advice by people who have achieved similar goals. Facilitating the goal achieved.
Community engagement
Sharing goals with users created accountability and even competitiveness
Many users over thought their plans and ended up underachieving and dis motivating them
Users felt lost by and unsure of how to achieve new specific goals
Users felt a lack of support and lack of motivation to stand up and achieve goals
Competence
Motivation, accountability and user engagement were things that were being looked over.
My Main findings
Apps
Apps
Productive
App
NIKE Run
club
Mao My
run app
STRAVA
In app messaging
Other users accomplishments
Wide range of
inputs
Activity monitoring
Community engagement
How do competitors facilitate and motivate users to achieve their goals?
Understand the factors that contribute to making a healthy and thriving community
Goal of the analysis
SWOT Analysis
Overcomplicating the user interface, making it difficult to navigate and use
Buggy or unreliable performance that leads to frustration and mistrust
Odd flows and lack intuitiveness
Weeknesses
User-friendly interface that makes it easy to track and analyze data
Integration with other fitness apps and devices
Motivational tools such as challenges, leaderboards, and social features
Strength
Resources to empower users on how do achieve goals could help
Gamifying an experience could be interesting and engage more users
In app messaging and other forms of interaction
Opportunities
During my secondary research, I observed a significant presence of numerical data in papers discussing product and service performance within the goal achievement and health domain. Motivated by this, I opted for a SWOT analysis, as its systematic approach enables a thorough examination of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. By exploring various apps, I aimed to gain insights into common features and elements used to guide users while improving my understanding of the field.
Gamification could lead to mass deletion of the app due to mental health issues
Large user base and have control of a majority of the market
Other apps have alot of data on user already
Threats
Initially hesitant about incorporating gamification into the Rapid app due to ethical concerns, my research and conversations with users and colleagues helped me understand the concept of positive gamification. With a fresh perspective, I focused on creating a solution that promotes well-being and avoids potential negative effects on users' mental health.
Initially hesitant about incorporating gamification into the Rapid app due to ethical concerns, my research and conversations with users and colleagues helped me understand the concept of positive gamification. With a fresh perspective, I focused on creating a solution that promotes well-being and avoids potential negative effects on users' mental health.
Biggest Setback
Biggest Setback
Wireframes and User tests
The Design
The Design
Principals i set based on my research were:
Creating an interfase that incentivizes sharing and allows friendships to organically form
Create an environment that fosters a sense of support and friendship while also feeling accountable for their goals.
Facilitating communication, encouraging engagement with other in a fun way
Equipped with a clear understanding of user pain points and their desired outcomes, I embarked on designing a solution. I evaluated various ideas against the principles derived from my research (shown below) to determine their suitability for addressing the problem at hand.
4
Turn notifications On/Off
Easy control of who you want to keep a track of
Allows users to receive notifications for activities similar to theres
1
Based on mentor and user feedback, users wanted to see notifications of personal goal
Users expressed interest in a way to monitor activities without logging in
Enhancing lock screen
2
Making the change mor intuitive
The ability to choose from large pictures instead of a list makes it extremely legible
Facilitating change of sport/activity
3
Easiness of sharing encourages engagement
More information in an organized space
Allows users to monitor easier
Better daily stat sharing
2
Making the change mor intuitive
The ability to choose from large pictures instead of a list makes it extremely legible
Facilitating change of sport/activity
4
Turn notifications On/Off
Easy control of who you want to keep a track of
Allows users to receive notifications for activities similar to theres
1
Based on mentor and user feedback, users wanted to see notifications of personal goal
Users expressed interest in a way to monitor activities without logging in
Enhancing lock screen
3
Easiness of sharing encourages engagement
More information in an organized space
Allows users to monitor easier
Better daily stat sharing
2
Making the change mor intuitive
The ability to choose from large pictures instead of a list makes it extremely legible
Facilitating change of sport/activity
4
Turn notifications On/Off
Easy control of who you want to keep a track of
Allows users to receive notifications for activities similar to theres
1
Based on mentor and user feedback, users wanted to see notifications of personal goal
Users expressed interest in a way to monitor activities without logging in
Enhancing lock screen
3
Easiness of sharing encourages engagement
More information in an organized space
Allows users to monitor easier
Better daily stat sharing
Wireframes and User tests
The Style Guide
Colors
Primary
Accent
Neutral
Logo
Components
Application app
Typography
8 px layout grid
60 px layout grid
4 column grid /
16 px margins
Grid + Spacing
Onboarding illustration
RAPID
Rapid
Header 2 (Semibold) 16 pt
Header 1 (Medium) 22 pt
Main body text (Medium) 16 pt
Sec. body text (Regular) 14 pt
Button (Medium) 18 pt
The Style Guide
Colors
Primary
Accent
Neutral
Logo
Components
Application app
Typography
8 px layout grid
60 px layout grid
4 column grid /
16 px margins
Grid + Spacing
Onboarding illustration
RAPID
Rapid
Header 2 (Semibold) 16 pt
Header 1 (Medium) 22 pt
Main body text (Medium) 16 pt
Sec. body text (Regular) 14 pt
Button (Medium) 18 pt
The Style Guide
8 px layout grid
60 px layout grid
4 column grid /
16 px margins
Grid + Spacing
Colors
Primary
Accent
Neutral
Logo
Application app
RAPID
Rapid
Components
Onboarding illustration
Typography
Header 2 (Semibold) 16 pt
Header 1 (Medium) 22 pt
Main body text (Medium) 16 pt
Sec. body text (Regular) 14 pt
Button (Medium) 18 pt
Things I’d do differently
Always question competitors intentions- One of the main setbacks in this project was my initial hesitation towards gamification due to ethical concerns and potential negative user behaviors. In future endeavors, I would approach such situations differently by expediting the analysis of new techniques and their variations while also thoroughly understanding their implications. This proactive approach would have allowed me to learn how to implement gamification quicker in a way that promotes the users' health and well-being.
Exploring New Engagement Strategies- One area where I would approach things differently is exploring alternative ways for users to interact with the app. For instance, incorporating an integrated camera feature to capture photos and videos could have added an engaging element if it were strategically placed within the app. In future projects, I would delve deeper into various forms of interactions to enhance user engagement and create a more immersive experience.
Leveraging Behavioral Psychology- Reflecting on my past experience, I realize the missed opportunity of delving deeper into techniques leveraging behavioral psychology. A profound understanding of this field would have been instrumental in my app development process. By studying behavioral psychology, I could have gained valuable insights into human behavior, motivations, and decision-making processes. This knowledge would have allowed me to better understand and effectively implement psychological principles into each and every app feature. Going forward, I recognize the importance of embracing behavioral psychology as a powerful tool to create more impactful and user-centric experiences.
