Strava - Competitor

Strava Logo

Fitness apps are known to be highly motivational, however the app Strava has been under fire for encouraging reckless exercise. 

The app, which can been found here, has received criticism for pitting its users times against each other with the intention of encouraging the user to try and beat the best time for a particular route. The Guardian recently wrote that Strava may be 'tacitly egging on subscribers to cycle recklessly', which is certainly drawing negative attention from the national press.

Learning from the mistakes of Strava, leader boards are not something to include to avoid the encouragement of reckless exercise, which may endanger the user or those around them. 

The design of the app, however, is strong with a consistent branding style across all aspects. Orange is a dominant and prevailing colour, applied to every page that the app contains. 

In the picture to the left you can see the consistency of design, including some vibrant and intuitive ways to present the information that the consumer may require.  One thing that stands out from some research into the app is that the information is presented simply, with graphics and a simple grid system. On the other hand, the design style seems fundamentally masculine, with dark strong colours being the focus. 

For a fitness app to appeal to both genders, which is something I feel our app should do, then finding a sweet spot in unisex colours that will not offend either gender is important. Demographically, fitness transcends age groups as well as gender, so another aspect of the app should be that the app appeals to as many people as possible. Our target market will be all those interested in fitness and self improvement. 

Things to take from this competitor in the fitness market include the importance of encouraging sensible exercise that can still enhance the lives of the users, a sensible and market specific design style. 

Digital Media App Design - Initial Research

I've been tasked with designing a digital media application to solve a real world problem. In a small group; we will choose a topic, research the market and then design the product for an appropriate audience. The topic was chosen from this list of options: 

• Energy Consumption
• Personal Budgeting
• Food / Water Waste
• Fitness
• Commuting
• Local Government
• Education

As a group we decided to design an app for the fitness market. Whilst aware of the volume of fitness apps on the market, we concluded that there was no 'perfect' app, offering a range of functions in one well designed and easy to use product. 

A discussion within the group highlighted certain aspects of existing fitness apps that we feel could be improved. An example of this is EveryMove, an app designed to reward the user for simply moving and staying active, not necessarily exercising. While this seems like an attractive idea, as fitness apps go it is fairly limited. There's no particular plan or suggestions for activities to do, and the interface seems dated and socially focused. A link for the app is found here.

Lessons to take from this app is to ensure we have a fresh, attractive and functional design, while offering a strong and multifaceted service. 

For reference, find my colleagues blogs at the following links:

Jamie Blackhurst

Erika Carter

Thanks, 

Alex