UX Case Study - Wellness App
My Role
Solo UX designer designing an app from conception to delivery.
Timeline
May - Sep 2022 (17 weeks)
Problem
In Hong Kong, 30% of the general adult population is obese, another 20% are overweight.
Solution
Little Little is a user-friendly platform offering different workout and diet options for busy Hong Kong urbanites.
Research & Survey
By reviewing articles, statistics, and medical journals, I better understood the problem and planned a survey to know more about obstacles to weight control in Hong Kong.
I conducted a survey with 52 interviewees, aged 16-52 years old, with BMI > 28 and who live in Hong Kong for over 3 years.
Stressful and busy life
Survey results revealed that obesities in Hong Kong are well educated to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
They suffer from overweight problems mainly because life in Hong Kong is stressful and busy.
Long working hours cause no time for food preparation and workout time.
Key Insight
1
Plans do not fit to normal life
There are thousands of ways and channels to learn lose weight methods, but there are not enough diet/ lose weight platforms designed for Hongkongers.
Other lose weight platforms developed by western or other countries limited the accessibility for them due to language and not fitting to their daily routines and habits.
2
3
Lack of determination and support
These two factors - determination and support are always interlocked. Lose weight journey might cause loneliness because of less eating out for social life. It is easier to give up without enough understanding and support.
Less than 50% of interviewees sought professional help before. The main reasons are high-priced services and lack of support from the government, employers and local communities, etc.
Competitive Analysis + The Gap
While keeping the above statistic and my goal in mind, I analyzed the 5 most popular self-improvement applications for weight loss, diet and meditation plans. I used sticky notes to write down the features I had identified and performed a feature combination session to help identify untapped market space. They all have impressive strengths and I learn how they position themselves in the market.
By examining what they do well and what they could do better, Little Little would be a one-stop platform for nutrition, fitness and wellness to reveal gaps and fit for Hong Kong, and even other East Asia regions – China, Taiwan, Japan and Korea.
Persona
Early Concept
Information Architecture - 49 screens
Ideation
The initial designs went through several user tests and uncountable iterations to ensure a friendly and scalable user experience.
I wish I could share every single part of the process with you! Below are the 5 major changes.
Solution
Reflection
My first UX project is done!
I am grateful to have been through an entire UX process so I can see what it’s actually like. A few things I’ve learned so I can improve myself next time:
Don’t be result oriented. I should be more open, trust the process, allow the space of blue sky thinking and iterate as much as I can.
I am not the user. I have preconceptions sometimes, especially in the early stage. I learned the benefits to listen more, there are always new insights.
Starting all over again is okay. I restarted the project twice in the early stage to adjust the direction. I struggled for a while as it seems waste of time. But I am so glad I was not afraid of failure and did so.
Read and observe much more. UX is everything and everywhere. I am training myself to be more aware of the UX design around me. Also, spend time every day reading about UX theory and improving my UI skills to express ideas.
Thank you for reading!