down dog Yoga redesign
an app redesign of down dog Yoga - an accessible and personalized fitness app that focuses on yoga. down dog also has other apps for HIIT, meditation, barre, and prenatal yoga.
highlighting a key area of improvement for productivity and scheduling to help users implement yoga/fitness into their busy schedules seamlessly
timeline: december 2020 - current
applications used: adobe illustrator, adobe indesign, figma
RATIONALE
How can we encourage users to implement down dog Yoga into their busy lifestyles?
Since quarantine has begun, I have suddenly been able to make time for the one thing I have always struggled to: working out. As school transitioned online, I found myself starting to explore the plethora of online workout videos starting with HIIT to working with light weights.
Unfortunately, as school started up, I started prioritizing my work and pushing my workouts out, deeming them not as important. Thinking about this now, it is quite unfortunate that we are able to put our body's and mental health at risk for making a deadline. Taking care of yourself and being aware of your body is often overlooked and can cause extremely detrimental results.
I thought about what can be changed/added to encourage users to take care of their body and mind. What recommendations or encouragements can be implemented to push users to squeeze in yoga or self-care?
Personally, when drowned with "million" things to do and accomplish, the simple action of planning my day out and making to-do lists help me immensely. Not to mention how much yoga and meditation have allowed me to stay calm as well as be more productive with a clearer and healthier mind and body.
CURRENT APP INTERFACE AND LAYOUT
Current UI allows personalizations of yoga practices including choosing style, time, complexity, as well as pace. After chosen, users can follow along to an instructor showing the various poses along with narrations.
Instance of improvement: "History" tab which leads to a calendar that simply counts how many practices done.
USER RESEARCH
What specific areas can we target to facilitate implementing Down Dog Yoga into users' everyday lives?
Conducted in-depth research by interviewing key individuals about their exercise/yoga habits and their thought process of implementing exercise into their schedules to see what additions/changes could benefit the Down Dog Yoga app into fitting into users' lives.
Focused on understanding popular platforms used, how they kept themselves accountable, what encouraged them to exercise/do yoga, how it affected their productivity, and how yoga/meditation specifically benefitted them.
Responses recorded below.
Key Questions
If you do not workout, do you want to workout?
If so, what stops you from working out? and if you were to workout how would you go about starting to implement that in your schedule?
How do you remind yourself to workout?
What encourages you to workout?
Do you feel a difference in your productivity/day when you workout versus not working out?
Do you meditate/do yoga? If so, how does that affect your lifestyle, mood, productivity?
the mindful one
the athletic one
the novice one
platform
YouTube, other apps
YouTube, gym
dance classes
accountability
calendar/planner, or when she wants a "boost" in energy
doesn't need a reminder, part of her daily routine
class times are remembered, wants to implement exercise
encouragements
"I want to be strong, healthy, have mobility as I get older"
"It makes me feel good and helps with stress and getting rid of excess energy"
"I dance because it helps me release stress and express myself"
productivity
"I am so productive when I work out in the morning. I get everything done that day"
"When I don't workout I feel sluggish and lazy..."
"I am usually happier after dance and finish my work quicker"
mediate/yoga
"I try to meditate twice a day and when I do, I feel GREAT and so clear and levelheaded"
"I meditate/do yoga sometimes.. makes me feel more calm, introspective, and appreciative"
no yoga or meditation
RESEARCH TAKE-AWAYS
What do users prioritize and how can we use that to improve Down Dog Yoga?
All participants indicate using a virtual platform to exercise including various online and video sites like youtube. Implementing Down Dog Yoga would mend seamlessly into these lifestyles.
Participants' forms of accountability vary person to person; some people automatically workout, while others rely on schedules and planners to remind themselves. A form of scheduling and reminding/notification abilities would allow users of various preferences and lifestyles to guarantee accountability to their exercise or practice.
Exercise improves our bodily and mental health immensely. As indicated by participants, it allows them to destress, build tenacity, as well as improve productivity. Most users are aware of exercise benefits but what about yoga? One participant noted how she tries to implement yoga and meditation regularly and how much it benefits her mindset. How can we push users to begin and start practicing yoga more regularly? With a more established yoga and exercise participation, users will benefit in all aspects of their lives.
SOLUTIONS & KEY TOUCHPOINTS
What changes can be made to improve the Down Dog Yoga experience?
To account for variability in exercise needs as well as time constraints, a personalized scheduling mechanism will be implemented with encouraging tasks and recommendations for daily practice needs. Current Down Dog Yoga interface simply keeps track of how many sessions and counts goal achievements, but this is not enough to ensure users to use the app within their schedules and busy days.
This change will develop the current calendar on the app allowing users to block out times of the day for practicing Yoga.
With this calendar, users can block out times that they can practice. They will be able to indicate difficulty, type of day (busy, free, half-day), and the app will recommend personalized practices for them to do considering time availability and purpose of practice.
To encourage and remind users, words of encouragement will be sent through app notifications, similar to the following:
"It's time for your 15 minute flow yoga session.
I know it's a busy day but it's just 15 minutes!"
INITIAL PROTOTYPING AND DESIGN IDEAS
Focused on implementing similar question style personalizations to a new "Schedule" tab (originally "History" tab) to increase accountability and usage of Down Dog Yoga
INITIAL WIREFRAMES THROUGH FIGMA
Continuing on from current UI of Down Dog Yoga the "History Tab" is changed to "Schedule" and new features and personalizations are added
NOTIFICATIONS & FOLLOWING WIREFRAMES
How can we remind users and keep them accountable to their Yoga practices?
Created two types of notifications - reminders (left) and encouragements (right)
Current Down Dog Yoga app does not contain reminders. A simple reminder can increase app usage and revisits
Used encouraging, positive language to make users comfortable with revisiting the app. Also, incorporated health benefit reminders - "your body gets stronger day by day..." Notifications also acknowledged user's busy days.
VISUAL DESIGN
old icons
new icons
Stayed faithful to basic colors and design - used similar fonts but updated icons to simpler/cleaner icons with rounded edges
Created a new icon for the "Schedule tab" as it is no longer a "History tab"
PROTOTYPE FINALIZATIONS
Implemented set visual icons and buttons as well as picture as the background - as used in Down Dog Yoga.
Created a calendar/schedule interface and ability to plan and select times for practices.
Notification UI and progression
Notifications were shown to encourage users to come back, do yoga, and actually practice on a consistent schedule. Encouragements made users feel like the Down Dog team was on their side and was there to support them in any way they could!
FINAL PROTOTYPE
