FitSafe
The meet-up app for outdoor fitness workouts
Facilitating group workouts
Providing outdoor workout safety measures
My Role
UI/UX Designer, Founder
Task
Full creation from concept to completion
User research
UI design
UX design
Prototyping
Objectives
To mitigate the risks associated with being alone and exercising in secluded areas
Constraints
12 weeks
iOS
Impact
Easier User Navigation
All users reported finding booking events easier after the landing page was changed.
Funelled Information
Based on the reduction of information on group workout pages, all users felt that they could make a faster decision about whether or not to join.
Effectiveness
40% more users felt empowered to do a solo workout with the information provided on the app- particularly about seclusion.
90% of users said they were likely to exercise outdoors more using FitSafe.
Problem Statement
I began this project with my own needs in mind. I love nature and staying active, but my exercise is often confined to the gym and busy parks because I would never go to the countryside alone. I know from conversations that many of my female friends share this sentiment.
Discovery
To kickstart the project, I validated my problem statement through articles and statistics. I was surprised by the proportion of men who also avoid lone workouts due to safety concerns.
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Female users were extremely concerned about threats from other people and took more precautions. They believe in 'safety in numbers' and most will only feel totally comfortable with companions
2
Male users were often concerned about getting lost or injured and struggled more with communicating their whereabouts to loved ones. They want low-effort ways to be findable in case of emergency
3
All users want to be fully prepared for more remote or strenuous workouts. They would benefit from equipment checklists and maps. They are more trusting of routes which have been taken by other users
4
When it comes to their safety, users want autonomy.
They need access to resources and information, so that they can take the precautions specific to their circumstances
Forming the Concept
I considered the ways I would expect somebody to try to mitigate the factors above, as they would be used to tailor my user research.
The solutions I decided to develop are outlined below:
Primary: Safeguarding against violence
Going with other people
Telling others where they will be
Taking a weapon/ other means of self-defence
Secondary: Safeguarding against injury/lack of supplies
Notifying others where they will be
Allowing themselves to be tracked
Validation
To validate my initial solutions and select features for the app, I held user interviews and a focus group with ten participants. I have outlined the results below.
Conclusions
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When it comes to their safety, users want autonomy.
They need access to resources and information, so that they can take the precautions specific to their circumstances
Surprises
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3
Next Steps
I felt I had enough knowledge to start designing and testing, so I took the findings from my research and created the first prototype.
Usability Testing & Iteration
Landing Page
Before
Buttons led to individual search pages for each sport and users could create events or purchase self-defence kits.
60% expressed confusion about the sport buttons and 80% of users natigated through the "search" option, indicating an ineffective landing page.
After
Users can now create workout events from their profile page.
Event Page
Before
During observation, users were distracted by unimportant information, which would only be relevant once they have decided to attend.
Users fed back that the lack of imagery and "crowdedness" (white space) left the page feeling dated.
After
I removed all non essential information and added imagery. Information like difficulty and sport were altered to take up less real estate. Hierarchy was altered to reflect user need to consider availability first.
Once users have joined a workout, they will be given additional information including the trail map.
Ongoing Investigation
Personas
Following the usability testing, the first version felt removed from what users truly needed, so I created three personas reflecting wide-ranging needs, hoping to keep them at the forefront of my mind throughout the iteration process.
Industry Research
To gain an understanding of the safety measures used by other meet up and personal safety apps, I created an inventory of features from some of the largest competitors, before evaluating and adjusting the app's features.
App Features
With more testing and iteration, I eventually came up with a launchable design, as shown below.
Scheduling Workouts
Creating Workouts
Visual Design
The app is about safety and nature, so I used nature-related colours, sticking to orange and greens, but softened them to feel calmer. I maintained a simple font and format to maintain focus on functionality.
Prototype
The app is about safety and nature, so I used nature-related colours, sticking to orange and greens, but softened them to feel calmer. I maintained a simple font and format to maintain focus on functionality.
Reflections
Men and Women
I was surprised to find that male and female users effectively had the same set of concerns- to only mildly varying degrees.
Female users are absolutely more concerned about violence, however male users consider that to be a prohibitive concern, too.
My research findings allowed me to keep the app simple and focus on one primary solution, which was a big positive.
Expanding the App
Currently, FitSafe focusses on the group workout aspect of safety. Whilst that will remain its primary use, I will take a further look at additional features which came up in the user research.
Ideas such as having a water calculator based on the weather forecast and altitude and length of the route would save users a lot of preparation time for strenuous workouts, although the calculator could be complex to create.
Monetisation
I want to look for ways to effectively monetise this app. Whilst following the MeetUp model of charging users to create workouts would be logical, it also poses problems for a new app.
Charging users a very low fee to create workouts, or even charging a low-priced subscription fee are my main considerations. I will also focus on incentivising users to create workouts.
Maps
Creating a bespoke map for FitSafe would be ideal, however it is a substantial job.
The app currently uses Google Maps, as the iOS Maps lacks the necessary detail to plan trips across remote terrain.
