Hotspot
This project investigates how we can reshape users' mental models to foster healthier behaviors and lifestyles. In a world flooded with technological advancements and sedentary lifestyles, it seeks to challenge existing perceptions and instill positive changes in how individuals approach fitness and well-being.
Duration: 4 Weeks
Role: UX/UI
(team of 5)
Tools: Figma, Fig Jam, Canva
Deliverables: High-Fidelity Responsive Wireframes
What is the
backstory?
Recognizing the limitations of traditional health and fitness apps that often rely on gamification and external rewards, our project takes a fresh approach by focusing on intuitive fitness—a philosophy centered around listening to one's body and engaging in physical activity that feels natural and enjoyable. Our objective is clear: to empower users to adopt healthier habits by transforming their underlying beliefs and attitudes towards fitness. Through the Hotspot app, we offer a personalized platform for tracking physical activity, connecting with others, and rediscovering the joy of movement.
The biggest problem we found with the competitive exercise app was cheating .So we conducted a short exploratory research on cheating and how that might influence exercise. Our purpose was to:
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Gain more of an understanding of the mental model of cheating in fitness
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What influences people to cheat in different environments?
Here's what we found:
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Within a group of 5 people, 27% of people cheated, but the number rose to 54% in a group of 25. This is due to participants thinking more people are cheating in a larger group, making it more acceptable.
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those with higher competitive motivation and/or aggression are more inclined to cheat in a game.
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Self-esteem decreased the amount of cheating
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As time went on in the game more cheating was involved.
Let's Break It Down...
Before we got to our final solution we conducted secondary research, user interviews, contextual inquiries, and journey mapping. All these steps finally led us to our initial stages of prototyping.
Research
We conducted some secondary research to identify features that might help us create an app without gamification but still motivate users. This is what we found:
1. Group exercise significantly reduces stress and improves quality of life by fostering social support.
2. Social media can promote mental well-being by facilitating connections and self-expression, especially for young adults.
3. Sharing personal health information can have mixed impacts. To ensure privacy and positive health outcomes, fitness statistics should be made private.
Contextual Inquiry
We conducted contextual inquiry to clarify our understanding as we observed participants’ behaviors and interactions with their environment as they participated in physical activities. We aimed to understand the goals, preparedness, and motivations of students when going to the gym
After researching and collecting our data our team split into mini groups to create storyboards and journey maps to help us get a better idea of our user and their needs. This is what we developed!
Meet Ethan! Ethan is a Sophomore in college trying to have better exercise patterns. He loves hanging out with his friends and is a social individual. He likes exploring his college town in his free time and loves a good deal.
After all of our scribbling and researching, what did we achieve? Let's take a look!
Our Final Mockups
01
Go
log-in
So what happens next?
We conducted a short usability test to gain some feedback.
After Usability Testing, these were the reviews...
User A
"The idea of earning rewards for walking to different spots is so cool, and it makes me excited."
User B
"the community aspect would be encouraging, as someone who lacks motivation."
User C
"The app's simplicity and focus on community seems enjoyable and interesting to use."
and that was our final solution :)
Project Reflection
The project started tough as we struggled to focus our ideas on a clear problem statement. But we found our way through by diving into research, interviews, and other activities, which shaped our understanding. Those interviews were especially helpful in narrowing down our ideas further and figuring out why people avoid fitness groups and what motivates them to exercise. We faced some challenges along the way, like disagreements and time pressures, but we were able to divide our workload and take extra time outside of class. Compared to the others, this project was enjoyable to work on and I loved ideating and creating our final prototypes. Looking back, we see areas where we could have improved how we worked together, managed time, and even ideated, but overall, the project taught us a lot about teamwork problem-solving, and the creation of new products and services.