When fitness meets fun,
You become UNSTOPPABLE !
Time Line
Feb - March 2025
My Role
Solo UX/UI Designer & Illustrator - Springboard Bootcamp Capstone Project
CONCEPT
Connect, Compete, and Reach for the Stars!
BFitly is a fun and engaging fitness app that brings friends together while turning workouts into a game. Users can connect, collect stars, and build their virtual icons as they progress toward their fitness goals. By combining a gamified experience with a strong social element, BFitly keeps users motivated, making fitness both exciting and rewarding!
BUSINESS GOALS
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Create the opportunity for users to message each other with health and fitness goals/achievements.
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Create an experience throughout the product drives engagement and repeat usage.
PROBLEM
One of the biggest challenges individuals face is staying consistent and motivated on their fitness journey.
Despite the abundance of health-tracking apps, workout programs, and healthy meal delivery services, long-term commitment remains low. A lack of motivation and burnout often prevent individuals from reaching their goals and building lasting healthy habits.
SOLUTION
A fun and engaging fitness app that makes working out feel like play, not a chore!
The solution lies in gamification and social support. Gamification keeps users engaged by making the fitness journey enjoyable and reinforcing consistency. Social support enhances motivation, accountability, and resilience while also improving emotional well-being and physical health through peer encouragement and community involvement.
CONNECT WITH FRIENDS AND SEE WHAT’S UP IN YOUR AREA
Stay connected, stay motivated! See what your friends are up to and share your progress to keep each other inspired.
Join social clubs and classes to take on new fitness adventures together!
EARN STARS AND BULD YOUR ICON
Every time you work out or achieve a goal, you earn stars! Use your stars to unlock characters, accessories, and backgrounds to customize your own unique icon.
With endless ways to personalize and progress, there’s always something to look forward to!
PERSONALIZE CHALLENGES AND COLLECT BADGES
Create custom challenges that match your fitness goals, or explore a variety of existing challenges with friends.
Every time you conquer a challenge, you’ll earn badges to build your ultimate collection!
DESIGN PROCESS
Research and Discovery
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Competitor analysis
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Secondary research
Define
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User Persona
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Journey Map
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Brand image
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Mood board
Ideate
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User Flows
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Initial Design Sketches
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Style Guide
Prototyping
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High Fidelity Prototyping
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Illustration
Iteration and Testing
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UserTesting
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Iterations
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Next Steps
COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
Competitors lacked the fun and engagement needed to keep users motivated for long-term success.
Even though some apps included social features and reward systems, they felt like an afterthought rather than a core part of the experience. Since these apps were primarily designed for fitness, the social interaction was limited, making it less effective for users who need extra encouragement and motivation. In reality, many users struggle with consistency, and without meaningful engagement, these apps fail to provide the support needed to keep them on track.
SECONDARY RESEARCH
When it comes to fitness and habit tracking, research keeps pointing to three key factors: motivation, consistency, and engagement.
After my research I recognized these factors that make or break long-term success, helping users stay on track and reach their goals.
USER PERSONA AND JOURNEY MAP
Let’s take a look at our persona, Jessie Martinez, and the emotions she goes through in her fitness journey. From the highs of accomplishment to the struggles of staying motivated, exploring her experience helped me identify ways to design a more engaging and supportive solution.
MOTIVATION
☹︎ Pain Point
Users struggle to stay motivated while juggling daily responsibilities and fatigue.
Motivation can be boosted through reward systems, such as extrinsic rewards like earning points or unlocking new features.
☺︎ Solution
How might we help users stay motivated on their fitness journey long term?
BFitly is designed to keeps users motivated with endless challenges and rewards while working towards your goal individually or competing with your friends to reach new levels.
Users can earn badges, collect stars to unlock new accessories, icons and backgrounds to customize your own unique character.
The illustrations are creative, funny, and exciting, all designed to give you that positive boost!
CONSISTENCY
☹︎ Pain Point
Users stay consistent and often abandon their fitness journey before reaching their goals.
Social support provides psychological benefits by boosting motivation, accountability, and resilience.
☺︎ Solution
How might we help users stay consistent and build a positive relationship with fitness?
BFitly offers a vibrant community where users can easily connect with friends, see what they’re up to, invite them to improve together, or browse and join local events and classes.
The social features are designed to motivate users, and the community helps keep each other accountable for their accomplishments.
ENGAGEMENT
☹︎ Pain Point
Fitness often feels like a chore, and many fitness apps fail to engage users enough to shift that perspective.
Gamification elements play a crucial role in sustaining interest by making the fitness journey enjoyable.
☺︎ Solution
How might we make fitness a more fun and engaging experience for users?
The overall aim of BFitly is to make fitness fun and rewarding through gamification, so users can focus on having fun with their friends and personalizing their icon without even realizing they’re working out. It shifts the perspective from "having to work out" to "leveling up and customizing your character" as the ultimate goal.
Progress bars and fun illustrations are also included to help users visualize their achievements and stay motivated.
USER FLOWS
Exploring users red-routes.
The three main red routes in my design are: tracking your work and sharing your accomplishments, creating a challenge while being able to share or invite friends to join, and easily messaging your friends. This way, users can complete tasks, earn rewards, and stay connected with their friends throughout their fitness journey.
ITERATIONS
Main design improvements!
I conducted two rounds of usability tests and design iterations on the BFitly design, based on findings and insights from 10 participants, which helped shape a streamlined user experience. I prioritized simplicity and familiarity, ensuring that users can effortlessly browse and navigate through the app with ease. My goal was to make the experience as frictionless as possible, allowing users to focus solely on enjoying their fun fitness journey.
Before
After
Rearrange the menu to simplify navigation
Combining Club and Challenges helped reduce cognitive load, creating a more intuitive and less overwhelming user experience, leading to a 100% improvement in user navigation flow during the second round of testing.
Create a more interactive social feed page
After receiving user feedback, I designed a more interactive social feed page to boost engagement by adding an option to create posts and upload images, alongside sharing activities and progress. This allows users to connect with the community and celebrate their achievements together.
Added a workout history feature
After receiving user feedback, I added a workout history feature to improve convenience and streamline the experience. Users can now easily access and repeat past workouts, saving time and helping them stay consistent with their fitness routine. This update allows them to focus more on progress and less on searching for previous workouts.
STYLE GUIDE
Yellow UI for energy, humor, fun and thrust!
These colors are used consistently across all UI elements, including the logo, buttons, illustrations, and chat bubbles, to maintain a cohesive and visually appealing design throughout the app.
Carefully chosen fonts for simplicity and readability, ensuring that all text is clear and easy to read across various screen sizes and devices.
Illustrations are designed to be funny and engaging, helping users visualize their achievements while motivating them to continue progressing on their fitness journey.
REFLECTION
Things I would do differently next time...
Early Strong UX Architecture:

Next time, I would focus on creating a clear UX architecture at the beginning of the project. This would allow me to better visualize the user flow and core features upfront, anticipate potential navigation challenges, and save time during the iterative design process.
Early Mood Board for Branding:

I chose to rebrand the app midway through the project, but if I had created a mood board earlier, it would have helped define a clearer visual direction from the start. The mood board would have facilitated better color scheme, typography, and illustration decisions, ensuring a cohesive brand identity early on.
WRAP UP
My Experience and Learning from the BFitly Project
Working on the BFitly project has been a deeply enriching experience, where I was able to apply both my design skills and user-centered thinking. Here are the key takeaways:
Understanding User Needs:
One of the biggest learning moments was recognizing how important it is to truly understand the needs and pain points of users. Through usability testing, I was able to refine the design based on real feedback, ensuring the app addressed users' expectations and made their fitness journey more enjoyable.
Balancing Fun with Functionality:
I learned the importance of balancing functional design with enjoyable, gamified elements. By using playful visuals and incorporating features like progress bars and rewards, I was able to shift the perception of fitness from a chore to a fun, motivating activity.
Iterative Design Process:
The iterative process of prototyping, testing, and refining was invaluable. It taught me how to embrace feedback and make necessary changes quickly, which ultimately improved the user experience. Testing early and often proved crucial in identifying areas that needed adjustment.
The Power of Visual Design:
Creating an inviting, fun aesthetic was crucial for user engagement. I learned how effective visual design is in motivating users and shaping their experience with the app. Choosing colors, fonts, and illustrations that align with the brand helped create a cohesive and appealing product.
Looking Ahead:
In future projects, I would focus even more on creating a solid UX architecture from the start and leverage mood boards to solidify branding early.
Overall, this project has enhanced my understanding of how to create a user-centered design that’s both functional and enjoyable. It was an incredible opportunity to grow as a designer and learn how to balance user needs, creativity, and functionality.