EmpowHer
Personalized fitness app for women
Project Overview
EmpowHer is a fitness app designed specifically for women. It offers personalized workout plans tailored to their menstrual cycles. Unlike generic workout apps, EmpowHer stands out by integrating menstrual tracking to customize workouts accordingly. Additionally, EmpowHer provides customized meal plans to support overall nutrition goals and offers comprehensive goal-tracking and symptom-tracking features to help women achieve their fitness objectives while managing their overall health and well-being.
Role
UX Designer
Tools
Miro, Marvel, Moqups, Figma, Zoom
When
Apr 2024 - Jun 2024
With
Ngawang Tridystang,
Purnima Tiwari
Industry
Health & Fitness
Final Mockups
Challenge
Many women face challenges in maintaining consistent fitness routines due to the fluctuations in their energy levels, mood, and physical condition during their menstrual cycles. Traditional fitness apps fail to account for these unique needs, offering generic workout plans that don't adapt to the individual rhythms of a woman's body. As a result, women struggle to find a sustainable fitness plan that aligns with their health and goals. This gap creates an opportunity for a personalized fitness app that empowers women to maintain an active lifestyle while accommodating their menstrual cycles and overall health needs.
Objective
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Provide personalized workout plans tailored to women's menstrual cycles.
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Offer customized meal plans to support individual nutrition goals.
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Integrate goal-tracking and symptom-tracking features to support fitness and overall health.
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Empower women to manage their fitness and well-being with a personalized and holistic approach.
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Stand out from generic fitness apps by incorporating menstrual tracking for a more customized user experience.
Design Methodology
To develop EmpowHer, my team and I followed the Design Thinking Process.
Empathize: We conducted three user interviews. The goal here was to understand the challenges our users face and their fitness needs.
Define: We developed three personas. These personas represent our key user groups and helped us to keep the user’s perspective in our minds throughout the design process. We also created three scenario maps to outline the potential user journeys and define specific needs and problems they might encounter.
Ideate: I created three storyboards to visualize different user scenarios, which allowed us to explore how users might interact with the app in various situations and helped us generate ideas for solving the problems we defined.
Prototype & Test: My team members and I split paths and worked on EmpowHer individually. I created paper wireframes, low-fidelity digital prototype and High fidelity prototypes and tested each with users in person and online, and then refined my design based on the insights I gained.
1. Empathize
Understand the challenges users face.
Women’s fitness and nutritional needs fluctuate throughout the menstrual cycle, yet most fitness apps take a generalized approach, ignoring these physiological changes. According to Janse de Jonge (2003), hormonal fluctuations impact exercise performance, with estrogen levels rising during the follicular phase, enhancing endurance and strength, while progesterone increases in the luteal phase, leading to fatigue and reduced performance. Despite these well-documented effects, most fitness apps fail to tailor workout recommendations accordingly.
Nutrition also plays a key role in managing these fluctuations. The Cleveland Clinic (2023), highlights that aligning diet and exercise with the menstrual cycle can help alleviate PMS symptoms and improve overall well-being. Their research suggests that tailoring nutrition and fitness routines to each phase of the cycle can enhance energy levels and performance
Existing Solutions and Gaps
We explored the iOS Apple App Store using search terms such as "period fitness," "cycle syncing," and "menstrual cycle fitness" to identify existing apps that address women's menstrual health and exercise needs. This helped us analyze the current market landscape and uncover gaps in available solutions.
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No Cycle-Synced Workouts – Existing apps focused on period tracking but didn’t offer fitness plans tailored to menstrual phases.
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Lack of Personalized Training – Workouts weren’t adapted to hormonal changes, resulting in a generic approach to fitness.
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No Integrated Nutrition Support – Apps lacked meal plans aligned with cycle phases to optimize energy and recovery.
No single app combined fitness, menstrual tracking, and nutrition into a seamless experience.
User Interviews
1:1 Moderated Interviews
To further validate these findings and understand real user experiences, we conducted 1:1, in person, moderated user interviews with three women of varying ages and backgrounds who actively track their menstrual cycles and exercise regularly. Their insights revealed common struggles with fitness and motivation throughout their cycles.
To further validate these findings and understand real user experiences, we conducted 1:1, in person, moderated user interviews with three women of varying ages and backgrounds who actively track their menstrual cycles and exercise regularly. Their insights revealed common struggles with fitness and motivation throughout their cycles.
Interview Focus Areas 🔍
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Effects of hormonal fluctuations on fitness
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Customization of fitness plans based on individual needs
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Key motivational drivers for users
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Current fitness app usage and workout plans
Who We Interviewed 👥
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16-year-old High School Student – Just started working out regularly
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22-year-old Medical School Student – Balancing studies and fitness
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42-year-old Freelancer – Seeking a sustainable fitness plan
What They Said 🗣️
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“Less motivated and tired during period.” – 16 y/o High School Student
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“Low energy and cramps during period.” – 22 y/o Medical School Student
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“I want to find a plan that is sustainable and not too strict.” – 22 y/o Medical School Student
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“Motivation and support is important.” – 42 y/o Freelancer
Key Findings 📊
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All 3 interviewees have just started working out consistently within the past few months
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All 3 interviewees felt unmotivated to workout on their periods
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2 out of 3 interviewees have PCOS and have trouble losing weight
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2 out of 3 interviewees performed their workout at home in their bedroom
2. Define
Clarify user needs and challenges.
Target Audience
EmpowHer is designed for menstruating individuals aged 13 and older who prioritize health and wellness at any fitness level. This includes:
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Those with regular menstrual cycles
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Individuals in pre-conception, post-conception, and pregnancy phases
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Those experiencing perimenopause or menopause
Storyboards
Storyboards were created to visualize user interactions, explore potential pain points, and refine user flows to ensure the app effectively addresses user needs.
Self-Improving Sam
Sam feels unhappy with her reflection. Determined to find a solution, she downloads EmpowHer, sets her goals, and gets a personalized workout plan.
Brave Brenda
On the first day of her workout, Brenda feels nervous but decides to journal her feelings in the app. After following the trainer, she completes the session and is impressed by how the app accommodates her heart condition. She feels motivated to continue.
3. Ideate
Explore design solutions and possibilities.
UX Vision
We created a Miro board to visually map the UX Vision for EmpowHer, focusing on three key user scenarios. This helped us define user interactions, pain points, and opportunities to enhance their fitness journey.
Scenario Maps
Our team engaged in creating scenario maps for our persona, Sam, to visualize different user interactions.
Sam creates a fitness plan.
Sam's first day of her fitness plan.
Sam would like to track her progress.
User Flow
We created a detailed user flow on Miro to map out seamless navigation and interactions within the app, ensuring a user-friendly experience and intuitive usability.
4. Prototype and Test
Build prototypes and refine through user testing.
Paper Prototype
A paper prototype was developed on Marvel to explore early design concepts and gather feedback from potential users. This low-fidelity representation allowed for rapid iteration and testing before advancing to more detailed digital prototypes.
Prototype Creation
The prototype was created using basic materials such as paper, markers, and pen, enabling quick adjustments based on initial user feedback. Images were then uploaded to Marvel to create an interactive prototype for further testing and refinement.
User Testing
1:1 Moderated Interviews
To validate usability and gather insights, two 1:1 moderated testing sessions were conducted on Zoom, allowing participants to interact with the prototype and provide feedback on design and functionality.
Key Findings 📊
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Both participants easily logged in.
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One participant got stuck at the “Workout Overview” section as they didn’t see the “x” button.
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One participant thought that “headache” would be under the Mood category.
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Both participants noticed the “Completed Workout” on the home page.
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Both participants thought tasks were easy to complete.
Low Fidelity Prototype
Using Moqups, I translated the insights from the paper prototype phase into a low-fidelity digital prototype. This allowed for more detailed user interactions and a better understanding of the app's flow.
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Key Findings 📊
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Both participants easily logged in.
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Both participants navigated to the “Pilates” section without issues.
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Both participants clicked on “Begin Pilates Workout.”
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One participant did not try to click on the checkboxes but was stuck and then hit the end workout button.
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One participant did not immediately see the back arrow button to return to the home page.
High Fidelity Prototype
Guided by insights from usability testing, the Home, Workout Overview, and Workout Guide screens were refined for improved clarity and usability. Built in Figma, the high-fidelity prototype integrates user feedback, enhancing visual design and interactions for a seamless experience.
Next Steps
As I look ahead with EmpowHer, my next steps involve:
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Completing All Screens: Expand the design to include all necessary screens for the app beyond the current three final designs.
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Conducting Usability Tests: Perform comprehensive usability testing with a diverse user base to identify and address any usability issues.
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Preparing for Launch: Ensure EmpowHer meets high standards of usability and effectiveness before launching to the public.
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Iterating Based on User Feedback: Continuously refine and improve EmpowHer based on ongoing user feedback and data analytics.
By focusing on these next steps, I aim to ensure that EmpowHer not only meets but exceeds user expectations, providing a valuable and empowering fitness experience for women worldwide.