The Wellness Club by TechnoGym
RESEARCH | STRATEGY | DESIGN
The Wellness Club is a digital ecosystem that enhances a gym member’s experience through a mobile app, wearable device and visual "T-lights" for TechnoGym machines. It helps members plan workouts in advance, manage time while at the gym and suggests new activities based on likes and dislikes.
The Brief
Technogym is world leader in the Fitness and Wellness solutions sector and has equipped 65,000 wellness centers and over 100,000 homes, being present in over 100 countries around the world. More than 35 million people regularly use their products. The mission of Technogym aims to improve people’s quality of life through regular physical exercise, healthy nutrition and positive mental approach.
Domus Academy was asked to work in conjunction with Technogym on the development of innovative solutions and concept scenarios, thoughtfully designed in order to enhance the customer’s experiences inside and outside the gym.
Defining the Target Audience
Millennials
Millennials are the largest consumers of fitness club memberships weighing in at 27% in 2013. They value personalized experiences, daily activity and wellness. They are an active generation that is redefining personal fitness through the use of apps that track training. (The Brief)
77%
of millennials prefer personalized gym experience to meet individual goals.
50%
of gym members think gyms are too crowded, which puts them off.
74%
of people said it was very important not to wait to use equipment during peak hours.
28%
of people say they go to the gym because their friends attend.
Target Personas
Research
After finding facts about the millennial’s gym experience, we decided to narrow our research to find solutions to improve the efficiency of the gym. Our main questions are:
How can we improve the use and flow of the gym?
How can we create a personalized experience for each user based on their likes and dislikes?
In what ways can we engage people to meet their fitness goals while making the workout session more social?
How can wearables improve a user’s gym experience?
How can we help gym users monitor the gym traffic?
How can we connect people inside and outside the gym?
Current App Landscape
A tool to monitor the DENSITY of gyms and avoid lines for equipment.
A service that PERSONALIZES each user’s gym experience.
A service that helps users CONNECT WITH FRIENDS in and out of the gym.
Concept Generation
The research and solutions are focused on providing information about crowds at the gym and creating personalized experiences for each member. I believe we will be able to improve individual experiences in gym facilities. We split this focus into two main areas, DENSITY and SESSIONS, and developed technologies to support these ideas.
Density
DENSITY address the problems related to overcrowded gyms during peak hours. It allows users to view the occupancy of the gym in real time, predicts the traffic of the gym in the future, and allows users to see who is at the gym. While at the gym, DENSITY rearranges users exercises schedule based on the busy areas in the gym and the machines being used at the time. This allows users to manage their time efficiently without having to wait in line for any of the machines.
Session
Once a user finishes an exercise, SESSION allows them to rate the exercises on the app, wearable device or TechnoGym machine screens as “too easy”, “too difficult” or “just right”. SESSION provides new exercises for the same muscle groups based on the user’s rating. The new exercises get implemented back into the user's exercise schedule through DENSITY. SESSION also suggest activities such as gym classes and personal training sessions based on the member's interest, friends in attendance and rating of exercises. If milestones are achieved, T-Light will show a visual notification to gym members. Notifications are also sent through the THE CLUB APP and wearable device, ASCENT, notifying the user and the gym community of their achievements.
The User’s Journey
UX/UI Design
The Wellness Club Home Screen
The home screen monitors the density of gym and helps users avoid lines for equipment. The aura and motion around the circle indicates the mood and amount of people in the gym.
Click to play the intended home screen animation
Finding & Booking a Class
The app allows members to see available classes and suggest classes based on the members goals, likes/ dislikes and friends in attendance. Members can also invite friends to join a class they are taking.
Completing a Workout
The app rearranges user’s workouts sequence based on machines in use. It also allows users to rate exercise (easy, perfect, hard) and suggests new exercises based on ratings.
Wearables & Equipment
Accent Wearable Device
A wearable device that connects to the TechnoGym machines. It is an intuitive and immediate way to access machines and functions of the mobile app
T-Lights
T-Lights are a visual representation projected from the machine. It allows gym members to see how long a machine will be occupied. T-Lights also provides a social recognition of milestones being met to encourage other members to meet goals.
Value & Potential
The app has a lot of potential because it helps improve the overall gym experience for gym members. Through these ideas, trainers have the ability to make each member's exercise schedule more tailored to their wants and needs. We feel that by providing a personalized experience such as SESSION and DENSITY, we will be able to motivate and engage more millennials to attend the gym.