Live Workout Classes
Mobile App Design
CITYROW
Fitness
B2C
Team
1-PM, 1-Product Designer, 3+ Engineers, Chief Brand Officer, Marketing Team, Production Team
Role
Lead Product Designer
Responsibilities
UX/UI Design, Competitive Analysis, High-Fidelity Prototyping, Usability Testing
Challenge
In 2021, CITYROW aimed to enhance user engagement by introducing Live classes to its platform. These classes would focus on creating an immersive experience without competitive elements, falling in line with the brand's values. The challenge was to design a Live class experience that fostered community and motivation without competition. This required a seamless class entrance for users, and a teleprompter dashboard for instructors to view real-time user data, such as account informaton, achievements and rowing data enabling them to offer personalized encouragement. The goal was to motivate users while maintaining the brand’s inclusive approach to fitness for everyone at any age.
Business Objectives
Launch Live classes to boost user retention and engagement with interactive, immersive experiences.
Increase app usage by encouraging users to participate in Live classes 2-3 times per week for consistent workouts.
Create an instructor-facing solution that could integrate user data for personalized motivation and community engagement to align with the brand’s non-competitive philosophy.
User Needs
To feel engaged and connected to the live class experience without the pressure of competition.
Visibility into the Live class schedule and class information (e.g., class type, duration, instructor) in order to plan to attned classes.
Instructors need a clear and simple dashboard to see real-time user data, allowing them to personalize the workout experience with encouragement and celebrate achievements.
Ideation & Concept Development
Brainstorming
In collaboration with product managers, engineers, and production teams, we brainstormed ideas to enhance the Live class experience. We focused on displaying real-time user data to instructors, allowing personalized call-outs based on metrics like meters rowed, and designing an intuitive teleprompter dashboard that provided essential user data without distractions.
Wireframing
I designed initial wireframes for the instructor-facing teleprompter dashboard, focusing on how instructors could interact with real-time user data during Live classes. I also developed user flows to ensure smooth navigation from app entrance to a live class entrace and created prototypes to test this flow against users for validation.
Research & Discovery
user research
I conducted a survey with CITYROW's users to gauge their interest and expectations for Live classes. My key findings:
The majority of users were women aged 35-65 who worked out 3+ times a week and were interested in taking live classes 2-3 times a week.
52% connected with a rowing machine (WR), while 43% used a mobile tablet to access classes.
Users desired high visibility of the Live classes in the app and wanted strong community engagement.
competitive Analysis
I analyzed live class features from competitive fitness platforms such as Peloton and Obe to identify best practices, user preferences, and potential opportunities for differentiation. This analysis emphasized the importance of providing clear, accessible live class data to enhance engagement while ensuring the experience remains supportive and non-competitive, without incorporating gamification elements like leaderboards.
key insights
Users are more interested in personalized engagement (e.g., instructor shout-outs) rather than competition.
Live class visibility (class type, duration, and instructor) was crucial for users to make informed decisions about participation.
Instructor engagement was key to ensuring a sense of presence, so they could encourage and call out individual achievements during the class.
Design Approach
The final design of the instructor-facing teleprompter dashboard emphasized simplicity and clarity. It featured large, legible typography and clear data displays, such as user names, rowind data, and achievements with color-coded indicators for key milestones. Additionally, the design focused on accessibility by using high-contrast colors and prioritizing typography legibility, ensuring text could be read from a 15-20 foot distance. By prioritizing essential data points, we ensured the dashboard was uncluttered and user-friendly for instructors.
To ensure seamless navigation from app entrace to starting a live class, I designed an intuitive flow for accessing Live classes from the home screen. Users could quickly navigate to the live sessions from the daily schedule component on the app's home screen then easily view class details to determin participation.
Design Principals
Instructor Teleprompter: Prioritize simplicity and clarity, ensuring data can easily to read by instructors with clear typography.
Live Classes In App: Maintained brand consistency by incorporating CITYROW’s colors and style, aligning with the app’s overall aesthetic.
Both: Focused on non-competitive engagement, fostering a sense of community and personal connection without leaderboards or rankings.
Iterative Process
I refined the dashboard design after conducting interviews with instructors to ensure legibility and usability. Changes were made based on feedback regarding font size, data display, and the overall simplicity of the interface. Iterations to the app experience in collaboraton with the possibilities and considerations of the engineering team.
impact
Users showed increased participation in Live classes, resulting in longer time spent within the app.
Instructors expressed higher satisfaction with the ability to engage directly with users by name during classes.
The teleprompter dashboard facilitated meaningful interactions, allowing instructors to celebrate user achievements and enhance the overall class experience.
The end Product
Final Solution
A Live class feature providing clear information (schedule, class type, duration, instructor) to encourage participation.
An instructor-facing teleprompter dashboard displaying real-time user data (achievements, meters rowed, user names) for personalized call-outs.
A simplified user flow seamlessly integrating Live classes into the app, without competitive features like leaderboards.
Usability Testing & Validation
Usability Testing
I conducted usability tests with instructors to evaluate the teleprompter dashboard’s effectiveness. Feedback highlighted its intuitive design, ease of use, and actionable data that allowed personalized feedback during Live classes. Ongoing feedback from instructors and stakeholders led to minor adjustments, improving data visibility during high-energy moments. The Live class experience withint the app was tested with real users to determineoverall experience and potential painpoints we hadn't considered yet.
Success Metrics
Instructors provided positive feedback on the teleprompter dashboard, emphasizing its ability to create a more personalized and engaging class experience by utilizing real-time user data. Live classes showed increased user engagement, with participation rates surpassing those of on-demand content. The dashboard also facilitated more meaningful interactions, fostering a stronger sense of community among users and enhancing the overall experience.
Conclusion
By designing a user-friendly Live class experience and creating an instructor-facing teleprompter dashboard, I was able to meet the challenge of increasing engagement while staying true to CITYROW's brand ethos. This project improved both user retention and instructor satisfaction, leading to more engaging and personalized fitness experiences.
The collaboration with the production team was essential in designing a dashboard that worked well for instructors in a live environment. Focusing on instructor engagement without introducing competition aligned well with CITYROW's brand values and resonated with users.
The tight timeline meant that we had limited time to iterate on the live class feature, but the collaborative process helped us meet deadlines without sacrificing quality.
Understanding that users don’t always want competitive features (like leaderboards) but still need engagement and recognition helped shape a successful solution. Working closely with instructors during the design process ensured that the solution was practical and effective.
Expanding the Live class experience to allow real-time interaction with users, such as allowing users to send feedback or comments during the class. Introducing more personalization in user profiles based on past engagement with Live classes.
Cityrow's new live classes keep me motivated and on track! The real-time coaching and energy make every workout feel engaging and rewarding.