Accessing outdoor wellness activities and finding a community to connect with can be a challenge for middle-class adults. This often hinders their ability to enjoy the benefits of physical fitness. Meanwhile, Mude, a company that offers an app for booking free fitness and yoga classes, faced difficulties in scaling its business. To overcome this challenge, a strategic decision was made to redesign the app and create a seamless online and offline well-being experience.

As a product designer, I played a pivotal role in leading the extensive app redesign and the development of an efficient back-office system to support it. Throughout the project, I reported directly to the CPO while also providing guidance and mentorship to designers who focused primarily on research analysis and content design.

This is the inspiring story of how I helped Mude achieve remarkable growth, going from 5,000 users to an impressive 500,000 users in just over a year. Moreover, our efforts resulted in a stellar rating of 4.9 in the Play Store.

This is the story of how Mude invited us to "live life outdoors.”

Mude, an out-of-home (OOH) media company, has a unique approach of allocating a portion of their media contract funds to provide free face-to-face wellness classes through their booking app. This innovative approach not only benefits the users but also serves as a catalyst for Mude's sponsorship deals, as the number of users engaging with their wellness services directly impacts the value of these partnerships.

Upon joining Mude, my first action was to assess the app's performance and its impact on the business. Through this analysis, it became apparent that the high retention rate of 70% for face-to-face classes posed certain challenges. Due to the limited availability of new spots, it was challenging to accommodate new users, ultimately hindering our ability to secure larger sponsorship contracts.

To address these challenges, the board of directors had already agreed that creating an online fitness app could be the solution.

Given our existing user base's interest in wellness, particularly face-to-face classes, it seemed logical to investigate whether they would also be interested in watching our online fitness content. To swiftly validate this assumption, I collaborated with the front-end engineer to create a hardcoded list of fitness videos. These videos were recorded using a simple camera and featured two of Mude's teachers. We then made this content available to 50% of our user base.

The outcome revealed that while some users did watch the videos, the engagement tapered off significantly after just one week.

In order to gain deeper insights into the results, I reached out to a selection of users who continued to engage with the content beyond the initial experiment period. This effort led to the discovery of an intriguing insight.

The key insight that emerged from our experimentation was the significant impact of the sense of community on user engagement and acquisition.

“What made people return wasn't the direct health benefits but rather the sense of community built around teachers and venues”

Users were drawn to the videos featuring teachers they were familiar with from their previous attendance at face-to-face classes. In fact, some users went as far as creating group chats with fellow users they had met during in-person classes, providing mutual support during online activities.

The implications of this finding were huge! It became clear that simply developing a standalone online fitness app would not suffice, as our unique selling proposition stemmed from the sense of community fostered by face-to-face activities.

Based on extensive market research, we recognized that the free online fitness market was fiercely competitive and saturated with numerous offerings. To gain a competitive advantage in our local market, I devised a focused design strategy to develop innovative features that would set us apart from the competition.

To effectively translate our understanding of the importance of community into a tangible user experience, I conceptualized and supervised the implementation of the following initiatives:

One of the strategies we tested and subsequently fully implemented was the use of automated push notifications to deliver personalized content. By leveraging a rudimentary recommendation algorithm that prioritized users who had previously attended face-to-face classes, we were able to achieve impressive results. Notably, it was unsurprising that 75% of users who received content featuring teachers they had interacted with in person demonstrated a higher rate of retention.

In order to create a sense of community and combat the feeling of exercising alone, I introduced a user-friendly live-chat feature. This enabled users to offer support and encouragement to one another while participating in their virtual classes. Notably, the live-chat feature quickly gained popularity and became one of the most beloved and frequently utilized aspects of the app.

*An interesting outcome of the live-chat feature was that users began utilizing it to send feedback to the teachers after their classes. Leveraging this behavior, I designed a rating system to support teachers in improving their practices.

We added push notifications and live chats as extra features to the online workout experience. Our aim was to overcome business challenges and meet customer needs by providing fresh content, even with limited resources. We wanted to ensure that our user experience remained competitive, comparable to industry giants like Nike, Adidas, and popular fitness channels on YouTube that offer free fitness content.

→ Link to the prototype • Link to one of the user tests • Link to the spreadsheets

To achieve this, I conducted a thorough analysis of our competitors' workout experiences, scrutinizing each second to understand their approach. Based on this in-depth study, I devised a comprehensive spreadsheet that, when filled, outlined the entire workout flow mimicking a CMS admin. This included what the user would visually see (📹 exercise videos), hear (🔉 audio cues), and the specific triggers that needed to be coded to deliver such an immersive experience.

In possession of this spreadhseet I then designed the first workout screens and quickly prototyped the workout experience using After Effects. The video content was being recorded by a contractor.

This approach allowed us to test the actual workout experience with real users and quickly iterate without the need for a single line of code.

User tests played a crucial role in shaping our final solution as they provided valuable insights and highlighted the direction in which to improve the app experience. Based on the findings, we implemented the following key changes:

Through market research, we discovered that competitors' audio instructions were ineffective. However, user tests revealed that audio instructions were crucial for our app's success, especially since many users placed their phones in their pockets during workouts.

To address this, I designed a system using a custom audio library. Strategic audio cues were placed at specific times during workouts to guide users effectively. I documented the desired behavior of the audio placement algorithm and recorded various audio types in a studio, providing a smooth handover using a spreadsheet.

During the initial iterations, it became evident that the UI design fell short in terms of outdoor usability. The visibility and size of the buttons were not optimized for outdoor conditions.

To address this, I redesigned the interface with larger buttons and a high-contrast layout. As a result, users reported a significant improvement in their ability to navigate and control the app.

The diligent approach of rapid prototyping and user testing yielded remarkable outcomes. Once implemented, the app's redesigned interface, coupled with a comprehensive navigation overhaul, not only achieved but exceeded all business objectives. Moreover, it notably provided users with tangible benefits, contributing to a healthier lifestyle. In the subsequent year following the app redesign, the following key achievements were realized:

• Increased user base from 5,000 to an impressive 500,000 within a span of just one year.
• Established a new revenue stream through video content sponsorship.
• Secured an investment deal of $25 million, marking a significant milestone in Mude's history.
• Garnered exceptional ratings of 4.9 and 4.8 in the app store and play store, respectively.

Through my active involvement in shaping the creative process and driving rapid prototyping, I effectively managed the risks associated with feature development, all while prioritizing the needs and preferences of our customers. This approach enabled us to deliver efficient solutions within accelerated timelines, contributing to the project's overall success.

On a personal note, it is incredibly fulfilling to witness the positive impact our product has on users' lives, as reflected in the daily flood of positive feedback we receive.

Thanks for reading,

Tutu