Project
Final project as part of UX/UI design course, at 6b Studio – Tel Aviv
Role
User Research, UX & UI Design, Prototyping, Branding
Sep-Nov, 2019
Market Analysis, UX Research, User persona, Jobs to be done, User journey mapping. Figma and ProtoPie
Three years ago, as a true couch potato I decided it’s about time I start being active. I decided to practice yoga. Finding a place to practice was more difficult than I expected. I looked for information online, only to find partial information about prices, schedules, teachers, or types of yoga… I turned to Facebook groups and friends for recommendations, but the information there was also confusing…
I found myself abandoning the search again and again.
As part of the advanced UX/UI course, I was asked to find a personal problem that I was interested in solving.
The Problem:
Finding a place to practice yoga and sustain a healthy, stress-free lifestyle.
The Solution:
Creating a platform that will connect people who want to practice yoga with the teachers or studios that are a good fit for them, so they can persist practicing yoga, live a healthier, stress-free life and avoid illnesses caused by pressure.
Will Sarah be a good fit for the user?
To address the significant pain point of finding the right teacher, it was important for me to build a teacher profile page that would allow access to content that may interest practitioners at all levels.
Mat allows users to book a yoga class via the app. The user can buy credit in the app and pay any yoga class or studio with that credit, no strings attached.
There Must Be a Solution Out There! Before diving in, I conducted a thorough market analysis to make sure that I haven’t missed any existing solution to this problem.
I found two platforms featuring an easy and intuitive search, booking, and payment for fitness classes, including yoga (ClassPass and Mindbody). However, those platforms were not yoga-oriented. They didn’t offer needed information regarding teachers or genre. I found a third platform that was dedicated to the yoga world, but it lacked booking or payment features (YogaTrail).
To understand what does Lauren wants to achieve and way, I used the JTBD methodology. I learned that Lauren has a lot of pressure and stress managing her own business. She is looking to improve her quality of life and reduce stress by engaging in physical activity to give her some balance – both mentally and physically.
To understand Lauren’s behavior and feelings at this time point (before the product is on the market), I used the UJM model. I wanted to know what makes her abandon the search for a yoga studio or teacher again and again, and I found that the main problem appears when she comes across partial information.
This is a process that might happen again and again.I compiled a list of features I would like to include in the product and conducted visual research on these features. I explored fresh features ideas from apps beyond the domain of fitness and yoga apps.
Once I got a better understanding of what I wanted to do, I took some time to sketch layouts and try alternative solutions.
I also designed Mat's logo ✍️
Mat is here to help you find all the information you need to practice yoga and keep a healthy, active and calm lifestyle.
Spend less time searching and more time on the yoga mat.
Apart from the sign-up process, I chose to address two brief issues that could help Mat personalize the content for the user.
No worries – this can be changed at any time in the user’s profile.
This is the place the user can see tailored offers for him or her and explore the yoga opportunities nearby. The user can also stay up to date with friends’ activities in the yoga world and read articles in the yoga magazine that contains tips and recommendations.
The “Find” section of the app offers a location-based search for a yoga teacher, class or studio. The user can filter the results and tailor them by his or her preference. The filters can address the needs of the users who know exactly what they want.
The user can divide the screen between the search results and the map view.
To complete the task of finding a place to practice and actually start doing it – Mat allows the user to book and pay for the lesson through the app. The user is not obliged to subscribe to a particular studio and can attend various yoga classes in his or her area or even elsewhere, like when on vacations or business trips.
Mat’s model also allows users to make payments through the app. The user pays money to claim a credit called “Mat credit.” For any charge over $40, the user gets 5% extra credit.
In the calendar section, the user can see upcoming classes and manage his or her bookings.
The next step in this project is conducting usability testing to refine and validate the solution.
In order to give the user a complete experience, I would like to design a web platform. As recent studies show, mobile usage is in a constant growth. With that said, in 2018, 42% of web visits in the U.S were made from a desktop, and the total time users spent on sites when using desktop devices was still larger than the total time for mobile (58% via desktop). Mat’s users can find it useful to access the platform via desktop, especially for teacher or lesson searches.
Yoga retreats are a withdrawal from the daily routine to instead focus on the practice of yoga. Usually, it includes a stay at a peaceful and calm place or resort offering yoga activities for a few days.
I think it is worth considering offer information about and booking for yoga retreats via Mat to users. This requires further research into the scope of our users who may use it.
Yoga has become increasingly popular in the Western world, mostly as a physical health practice, but also for stress reduction and general wellness. Some look at yoga as a holistic way to improve the mind as well as the body. I believe that finding a place to practice yoga should be an easy and friendly process.
The goal of this app is to connect people who want to practice yoga with the teachers or studios that are a good fit for them. Mat is designed to help people find the information they need and to book the class they want without being tied to a particular studio. More than that, the goal of Mat is to allow people to persist practicing yoga, live a healthier, stress-free life and avoid illnesses caused by pressure.
Mat was my final project as part of the advanced UX/UI course. In the process, I realized that looking at the problem and needs from different angles and using different methods to do so, was the key to understanding what the most appropriate solution is. The project included UX, UI and prototyping, and every bit of it was a lot of fun!
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