Personalized and Accessible Gym Experience in University
UniCore Fitness APP Design
Timeline
Oct. - Dec. 2024
Tools
Figma, FigJam, shadcn/ui
My Role
Leading UX designer
(Capstone Proejct)
My Responsibilities
UX Research, Competitive Analysis, Solution Ideating, Wireframing, Prototyping, Design System, User Testing
The inspiration behind this idea
As students, university gyms are incredibly valuable resources. However, for various reasons, many students choose not to utilize them.
We believe that an integrated digital solution could enhance the gym experience, lower the barriers to usage, and cater to personalized fitness needs.
A Quick Look to Our Solution
UniCore is designed to enhance the gym experience for students of all fitness levels.
By integrating personalized workout plan, real-time gym insights, and accessible tutorials, it simplify and improve users’ fitness experience.
Solution Snapshot
Solution Highlight 1
Real-time Gym Information
Information such as gym crowd levels, equipment availability, and operational hours helps users stay up-to-date with gym and plan their workouts in advance.
Solution Highlight 2
Accessible Equipment Tutorial
UniCore provides detailed and easy-to-follow tutorial with videos, images and text to ensure users can confidently and correctly use equipment, and workout more effectively.
Solution Highlight 3
Personalized Workout Plan Generator
Besides manually creating workout plan, UniCore utilizes AI to create tailored plans based on users’ fitness levels, goals, and preferences, making it approachable and engaging.
With the solutions outlined, let’s step back and walk through the entire design process
—starting with user research and leading to the final implementation.
Understanding Users’ Needs
Before diving into design, we wanted to deeply understand why students found it difficult to stick with regular gym routines.
So we conducted 10+ interviews and collected 32+ pain points through affinity mapping. Three major patterns emerged:
❓
Inaccessible and unclear equipment tutorial
🕒
Overcrowding and waiting time
📈
Difficult to track progress and plan workouts
To identify the key features to include in our App, we categorized all the information from survey with an affinity diagram and got a comprehensive understanding of the current landscape of workout Apps with competitive analysis.
These insights helped us reframe our challenge:
With the solutions outlined, let’s step back and walk through the entire design process
—starting with user research and leading to the final implementation.
What could be the actionable features?
Personalization
- Personalized workout plans with AI feature
- Customizable units of measurements
Gym Information
- Gym’s current and past occupancy
- Listed gym equipment
Tracking & Logging
- Intuitively progress tracking & history function
- The ability to add notes specific to the equipment used
Equipment Tutorial
- Multiple forms of equipment tutorial
- Real-time equipment availability
- Body Map grouped by muscle
App Integration
- The ability to link to other Apps or to smart devices
Our Design Process
From wireframes to high-fidelity designs, we followed a tight loop of building, testing, and refining.
We designed 6 core user flows and conducted 3 rounds of user testing with 24 participants. Instead of guessing what users needed, we invited them into the process—observing where they hesitated, what they skipped, and what sparked delight.
Each round brought us closer to a product that felt not only functional but empowering 🚀
What We Iterated on (And Why!!)
Iteration Highlight 1
Participants were confused upon entering the body map page and were unsure of what actions to take or where to click.
So we enhanced the visual affordance on the body map page to improve usability and clarity.
Iteration Highlight 2
Participants preferred accessing tutorials over history and found the separated images and text instructions difficult to follow.
So we reordered the pages to prioritize tutorials and introduced an intuitive and easy-to-follow image carousel.
Iteration Highlight 3
Participants found the layout cluttered and the buttons took up too much space, which was distracting. And they tended to skip the instruction text.
So we placed the instructional text prominently and organized the buttons into a foldable menu to create a clearer hierarchy and reduce distraction.
Final Designs
Onboarding
The first touchpoint for users
Designed to tailor the app experience to individual exercise level and preferences.
Homepage
An information hub
Comprehensive Gym Information
Users can easily access to general information such as announcements and gym hours.
Crowd History
Current crowd level and average occupancy helps users stay up-to-date with gym and plan their workouts in advance.
Machines Offered
The list of equipment offered in the gym, and how many total of each equipment there are.
Plan page
The unique feature of UniCore
AI-generated Workout Plan
Generates personalized workout plan based on users’ body metrics and workout preference.
Interactive Workout Screen
Users are able to record their progress and check detailed metrics along exercising, which brings them a sense of accomplishment.
Plan History
Serves as both a record of users' past workouts and a convenient tool for adding equipment to their new workout plans.
Equipment Page
An accessible guided tool
Body Muscle Map
Provides an intuitive way for users to identify and select target muscles, helping them look for the appropriate equipment.
Equipment Tutorial
Offers easy-to-follow tutorial in multiple formats— videos, images, and text instructions— to meet diverse user preferences.
Equipment History Record
Provides user’s personal usage data with the specific equipment, ensuring they can keep track with their workout progress.
Profile Page
A center of personal info
Personal Information
Presents users’ body information, such as weight, height, age and gender, along with the editing function.
Awards
Users can collect various badges according to their progress and achievements, which motivate them to continue exercising.
Link
Provides a way for users to link their smartwatch or other relative Apps to UniCore as an information resource.
Impact
During each user testing, we noted down participants’ task completion rate and asked the them to rate the user-friendliness of UniCore on a scale of 1 to 5.
76.7% 👉 88.3%
Task Completion Rate
3.7 👉 4.75
User-friendliness Rating (scale of 1 to 5)
The comparison of first round of testing and the last round shows significant improvement in task completion rates and higher user-friendliness ratings, indicating that our iterations effectively addressed user concerns.
Design Guidelines
Takeaways
Involve Users During Design Stage
We were able to conduct several rounds of user testings for this project, which proved invaluable for refining iterations and gaining insights into what users truly care and need.
Ensure Information Transparency
Clearly communicate how user information is used, such as personal data powering AI-generated plans, and provide an opt-out option.
Personalized and Accessible Gym Experience in University
UniCore Fitness APP Design
Timeline
Oct. - Dec. 2024
Tools
Figma, FigJam, shadcn/ui
My Role
Leading UX designer
(Capstone Proejct)
My Responsibilities
UX Research, Competitive Analysis, Solution Ideating, Wireframing, Prototyping, Design System, User Testing
The inspiration behind this idea
As students, university gyms are incredibly valuable resources. However, for various reasons, many students choose not to utilize them.
We believe that an integrated digital solution could enhance the gym experience, lower the barriers to usage, and cater to personalized fitness needs.
A Quick Look to Our Solution
UniCore is designed to enhance the gym experience for students of all fitness levels.
By integrating personalized workout plan, real-time gym insights, and accessible tutorials, it simplify and improve users’ fitness experience.
Solution Snapshot
Solution Highlight 1
Real-time Gym Information
Information such as gym crowd levels, equipment availability, and operational hours helps users stay up-to-date with gym and plan their workouts in advance.
Solution Highlight 2
Accessible Equipment Tutorial
UniCore provides detailed and easy-to-follow tutorial with videos, images and text to ensure users can confidently and correctly use equipment, and workout more effectively.
Solution Highlight 3
Personalized Workout Plan Generator
Besides manually creating workout plan, UniCore utilizes AI to create tailored plans based on users’ fitness levels, goals, and preferences, making it approachable and engaging.
With the solutions outlined, let’s step back and walk through the entire design process
—starting with user research and leading to the final implementation.
Understanding Users’ Needs
Before diving into design, we wanted to deeply understand why students found it difficult to stick with regular gym routines.
So we conducted 10+ interviews and collected 32+ pain points through affinity mapping. Three major patterns emerged:
❓
Inaccessible and unclear equipment tutorial
🕒
Overcrowding and waiting time
📈
Difficult to track progress and plan workouts
To identify the key features to include in our App, we categorized all the information from survey with an affinity diagram and got a comprehensive understanding of the current landscape of workout Apps with competitive analysis.
These insights helped us reframe our challenge:
With the solutions outlined, let’s step back and walk through the entire design process
—starting with user research and leading to the final implementation.
What could be the actionable features?
Personalization
- Personalized workout plans with AI feature
- Customizable units of measurements
Gym Information
- Gym’s current and past occupancy
- Listed gym equipment
Tracking & Logging
- Intuitively progress tracking & history function
- The ability to add notes specific to the equipment used
Equipment Tutorial
- Multiple forms of equipment tutorial
- Real-time equipment availability
- Body Map grouped by muscle
App Integration
- The ability to link to other Apps or to smart devices
Our Design Process
From wireframes to high-fidelity designs, we followed a tight loop of building, testing, and refining.
We designed 6 core user flows and conducted 3 rounds of user testing with 24 participants. Instead of guessing what users needed, we invited them into the process—observing where they hesitated, what they skipped, and what sparked delight.
Each round brought us closer to a product that felt not only functional but empowering 🚀
What We Iterated on (And Why!!)
Iteration Highlight 1
Participants were confused upon entering the body map page and were unsure of what actions to take or where to click.
So we enhanced the visual affordance on the body map page to improve usability and clarity.
Iteration Highlight 2
Participants preferred accessing tutorials over history and found the separated images and text instructions difficult to follow.
So we reordered the pages to prioritize tutorials and introduced an intuitive and easy-to-follow image carousel.
Iteration Highlight 3
Participants found the layout cluttered and the buttons took up too much space, which was distracting. And they tended to skip the instruction text.
So we placed the instructional text prominently and organized the buttons into a foldable menu to create a clearer hierarchy and reduce distraction.
Final Designs
Onboarding
The first touchpoint for users
Designed to tailor the app experience to individual exercise level and preferences.
Homepage
An information hub
Comprehensive Gym Information
Users can easily access to general information such as announcements and gym hours.
Crowd History
Current crowd level and average occupancy helps users stay up-to-date with gym and plan their workouts in advance.
Machines Offered
The list of equipment offered in the gym, and how many total of each equipment there are.
Plan page
The unique feature of UniCore
AI-generated Workout Plan
Generates personalized workout plan based on users’ body metrics and workout preference.
Interactive Workout Screen
Users are able to record their progress and check detailed metrics along exercising, which brings them a sense of accomplishment.
Plan History
Serves as both a record of users' past workouts and a convenient tool for adding equipment to their new workout plans.
Equipment Page
An accessible guided tool
Body Muscle Map
Provides an intuitive way for users to identify and select target muscles, helping them look for the appropriate equipment.
Equipment Tutorial
Offers easy-to-follow tutorial in multiple formats— videos, images, and text instructions— to meet diverse user preferences.
Equipment History Record
Provides user’s personal usage data with the specific equipment, ensuring they can keep track with their workout progress.
Profile Page
A center of personal info
Personal Information
Presents users’ body information, such as weight, height, age and gender, along with the editing function.
Awards
Users can collect various badges according to their progress and achievements, which motivate them to continue exercising.
Link
Provides a way for users to link their smartwatch or other relative Apps to UniCore as an information resource.
Impact
During each user testing, we noted down participants’ task completion rate and asked the them to rate the user-friendliness of UniCore on a scale of 1 to 5.
76.7% 👉 88.3%
Task Completion Rate
3.7 👉 4.75
User-friendliness Rating (scale of 1 to 5)
The comparison of first round of testing and the last round shows significant improvement in task completion rates and higher user-friendliness ratings, indicating that our iterations effectively addressed user concerns.
Design Guidelines
Takeaways
Involve Users During Design Stage
We were able to conduct several rounds of user testings for this project, which proved invaluable for refining iterations and gaining insights into what users truly care and need.
Ensure Information Transparency
Clearly communicate how user information is used, such as personal data powering AI-generated plans, and provide an opt-out option.
Scroll to top
Personalized and Accessible Gym Experience in University
UniCore Fitness APP Design
Timeline
Oct. - Dec. 2024
Tools
Figma, FigJam, UserTesting
My Role
UX designer, UX researcher
/ class project with 3 other designers
My Responsibilities
UX Research, Competitive Analysis, Solution Ideating, Wireframing, Prototyping, Design System, User Testing
The inspiration behind this idea
As students, university gyms are incredibly valuable resources. However, for various reasons, many students choose not to utilize them.
We believe that an integrated digital solution could enhance the gym experience, lower the barriers to usage, and cater to personalized fitness needs.
A Quick Look to Our Solution
UniCore is designed to enhance the gym experience for students of all fitness levels.
By integrating personalized workout plan, real-time gym insights, and accessible tutorials, it simplify and improve users’ fitness experience.
Solution Snapshot
Solution Highlight 1
Real-time Gym Information
Information such as gym crowd levels, equipment availability, and operational hours helps users stay up-to-date with gym and plan their workouts in advance.
Solution Highlight 2
Accessible Equipment Tutorial
UniCore provides detailed and easy-to-follow tutorial with videos, images and text to ensure users can confidently and correctly use equipment, and workout more effectively.
Solution Highlight 3
Personalized Workout Plan Generator
Besides manually creating workout plan, UniCore utilizes AI to create tailored plans based on users’ fitness levels, goals, and preferences, making it approachable and engaging.
With the solutions outlined, let’s step back and walk through the entire design process—
starting with user research and leading to the final implementation.
Understanding Users’ Needs
Before diving into design, we wanted to deeply understand why students found it difficult to stick with regular gym routines.
So we conducted 10+ interviews and collected 32+ pain points through affinity mapping. Three major patterns emerged:
❓
Inaccessible and unclear equipment tutorial
🕒
Overcrowding and waiting time
📈
Difficult to track progress and plan workouts
To identify the key features to include in our App, we categorized all the information from survey with an affinity diagram and got a comprehensive understanding of the current landscape of workout Apps with competitive analysis.
These insights helped us reframe our challenge:
How might we design a personalized, frustration-free gym experience that makes students feel guided, motivated, and in control?
What could be the actionable features?
Personalization
- Personalized workout plans with AI feature
- Customizable units of measurements
Gym Information
- Gym’s current and past occupancy
- Listed gym equipment
Tracking & Logging
- Intuitively progress tracking & history function
- The ability to add notes specific to the equipment used
Equipment Tutorial
- Multiple forms of equipment tutorial
- Real-time equipment availability
- Body Map grouped by muscle
App Integration
- The ability to link to other Apps or to smart devices
Our Design Process
From wireframes to high-fidelity designs, we followed a tight loop of building, testing, and refining.
We designed 6 core user flows and conducted 3 rounds of user testing with 24 participants. Instead of guessing what users needed, we invited them into the process—observing where they hesitated, what they skipped, and what sparked delight.
Each round brought us closer to a product that felt not only functional but empowering 🚀
What We Iterated on (And Why!!)
Iteration Highlight 1
Participants were confused upon entering the body map page and were unsure of what actions to take or where to click.
So we enhanced the visual affordance on the body map page to improve usability and clarity.
Iteration Highlight 2
Participants preferred accessing tutorials over history and found the separated images and text instructions difficult to follow.
So we reordered the pages to prioritize tutorials and introduced an intuitive and easy-to-follow image carousel.
Iteration Highlight 3
Participants found the layout cluttered and the buttons took up too much space, which was distracting. And they tended to skip the instruction text.
So we placed the instructional text prominently and organized the buttons into a foldable menu to create a clearer hierarchy and reduce distraction.
Final Designs
Onboarding
The first touchpoint for users
Designed to tailor the app experience to individual exercise level and preferences.
Homepage
An information hub
Comprehensive Gym Information
Users can easily access to general information such as announcements and gym hours.
Crowd History
Current crowd level and average occupancy helps users stay up-to-date with gym and plan their workouts in advance.
Machines Offered
The list of equipment offered in the gym, and how many total of each equipment there are.
Plan page
The unique feature of UniCore
AI-generated Workout Plan
Generates personalized workout plan based on users’ body metrics and workout preference.
Interactive Workout Screen
Users are able to record their progress and check detailed metrics along exercising, which brings them a sense of accomplishment.
Plan History
Serves as both a record of users' past workouts and a convenient tool for adding equipment to their new workout plans.
Equipment Page
An accessible guided tool
Body Muscle Map
Provides an intuitive way for users to identify and select target muscles, helping them look for the appropriate equipment.
Equipment Tutorial
Offers easy-to-follow tutorial in multiple formats— videos, images, and text instructions— to meet diverse user preferences.
Equipment History Record
Provides user’s personal usage data with the specific equipment, ensuring they can keep track with their workout progress.
Profile Page
A center of personal info
Personal Information
Presents users’ body information, such as weight, height, age and gender, along with the editing function.
Awards
Users can collect various badges according to their progress and achievements, which motivate them to continue exercising.
Link
Provides a way for users to link their smartwatch or other relative Apps to UniCore as an information resource.
Impact
During each user testing, we noted down participants’ task completion rate and asked the them to rate the user-friendliness of UniCore on a scale of 1 to 5.
76.7% 👉 88.3%
Task Completion Rate
3.7 👉 4.75
User-friendliness Rating (scale of 1 to 5)
The comparison of first round of testing and the last round shows significant improvement in task completion rates and higher user-friendliness ratings, indicating that our iterations effectively addressed user concerns.
Design Guidelines
Takeaways
Involve Users During Design Stage
We were able to conduct several rounds of user testings for this project, which proved invaluable for refining iterations and gaining insights into what users truly care and need.
Ensure Information Transparency
Clearly communicate how user information is used, such as personal data powering AI-generated plans, and provide an opt-out option.
Scroll to top
