Research

Competitive Analysis

One of the first steps in our research that we took was conducting a high-level analysis of other competitor running applications. From this analysis we generated the following questions that would be answered through our design process:

• Core user flow of competitive apps (What do users do BEFORE the run? During? After?)

• What is the core goal of these apps? (Stat-tracking or educational?)

• What are their strengths? 

• What are their weaknesses?

• Who are the MAIN competitors? (Highlighted in red stars)

Surveys & Interviews

We sent out a survey that collected 50 responses from various people - some experienced runners, some very inexperienced. From these results, along with 10 interviews with some of those who took our survey, we were able to create an Interview Synthesis that gave us in-depth, emotional data about peoples’ ties to running. We learned…

• New runners are overwhelmed by running apps and often choose not to use them.

• Many users don’t have access to any equipment other than their phones.

• Some users want their stats tracked, some don’t.

• Most running apps don’t provide users with information on HOW to run.

User Personas

From our initial research, we ended up condensing our data down into our two user personas as high-level overviews of our target audience.

The “Wants to be Health-Focused” individual aims to make running a consistent part of their life, creating an active and healthy lifestyle.

Key Characteristics:

• Lacks the knowledge and experience in their present state

• Wants to improve physical fitness and personal wellness

• Wants motivation to take action

Our other persona, “The Stress Buster”, is more focused on the mental benefits of running. This individual is in a high stress environment and wants to run as a means to blow off steam.

Key Characteristics:

• Wants to establish a better work/life balance

• Wants to take better care of themselves

• Aims to use running as an emotional outlet

Color & Typography

We created a large quantity of color schemes as an initial ideation phase. From there we narrowed them down further to two color pallets that we felt really fit with our brand. At the same time we chose a font pairing. We applied the color pallets to the font pairing to find the pallet that fit with the fonts and our branding goal best. 

Eventually, we settled on a purple-focused color palette with orange accents, as well as Fugaz One as a display font and Poppins as a body font. We felt that this stylization captured the empathetic and cheerful aspects of our app beautifully.

Wireframes

Moving into our design, we aimed to implement what we learned from our research in two main points.

First, we implemented a Widget System that assists with our empathic approach by allowing users to customize their experience. Users would be able to choose what information they wanted to see, both on the Home screen and during Runs.

Second, we realized that our approach led to there being three main user flows in our app: the Before Run flow, the During Run flow, and the After Run flow. 

• Before Run

• Change your Widgets.

• Read advice on how to run in the Guidance section.

• Check your Awards and run Records.

• During Run

• See current stats and get feedback according to your running plan.

• For example, if you are following the Couch to 5k Plan, the app will help remind you to alternate between running and walking.

• The widgets that you have selected to display on your Run page will keep track of the data that you want to see.

• After Run

• See how much experience you've gained and what Awards you've achieved!

• Be guided through Cool-Down Exercises to help minimize soreness and injury.

• Rate your overall run experience as well as track any specific discomfort you felt. This data is stored for each run in order to help users understand how their mental and physical states have changed from run to run.

Initially, we based our Widget stylization on Apple’s style guides. We decided to change to the edge-to-edge design that you see on the right in order to make better use of our space, and to better match the rest of the app’s edge-to-edge designs.

However, the usage of saturated color in our widgets became somewhat overwhelming, now that they filled the screen.

We addressed our color issues by using the background color from previous iterations for the widgets, with dividing lines in a light purple. We also started incorporating a few more colors, especially in our new reward system, in order to break up the monotony of a single color.

Our reward system was also fully fleshed out during this phase. It would allow users to track their running progress, as well as stay engaged through the promise of higher levels and unlockable Awards.