Hevy
Mobile App Re-design
Hevy is a personal passion project aimed at redesigning the workout tracking experience for fitness enthusiasts.
Role
UI/UX Designer
Tools
Figma, Balsamiq, Adobe Suite
Date
January 2025
1. My Role
As the sole designer, I owned every aspect of Hevy's development:
Conducted informal user research through surveys and fitness community observations
Designed user flows and navigation
Created low-fidelity sketches and high-fidelity prototypes
Designed branding elements and microinteractions
Applied user feedback to refine the experience
2. Project Goals
The goal was to create an app that not only made logging exercises easy and intuitive but also kept users motivated through a clear, energetic interface and playful gamification elements.
While researching the fitness app space, I identified several recurring pain points:
Overwhelming interfaces: Many apps prioritized dense data over user-friendly visuals.
Lack of motivation tools: Users lost steam without visible rewards or encouragement.
Unclear exercise categorization: Difficult to quickly find or log the right exercise mid-workout.
Hevy set out to solve these issues by:
Prioritizing clarity and fast scanning in exercise selection and logging.
Adding visual motivators like badges, rankings, and progress stats.
Creating an interface that felt energetic yet simple, encouraging users to return.
3. User Research
I conducted informal interviews with 15 regular gym-goers and fitness enthusiasts.
Key takeaways included:
Quick Access is Key: Users don't want to fiddle with their phone during a workout — fast navigation and logging are critical.
Visual Progress Boosts Motivation: Seeing tangible milestones (e.g., badges, calories burned) keeps users engaged longer.
Dark Mode Preferred: Fitness users often work out in different lighting environments; a dark, high-contrast design was considered essential.
4. Feature Design
Hevy’s design is built around four pillars: clarity, motivation, simplicity, and energy.
Key Features:
Exercise Categorization: Exercises grouped cleanly by type (e.g., cardio, strength, flexibility) to improve scannability.
Gamification: Users earn badges, ranks, and streaks for consistent logging and milestones.
Visual Stats: Large, bold displays for calories burned, time spent, and workout history.
Dark Mode Design: A dark background with blue accent highlights for energy without eye strain.
Design Choices:
Energetic Aesthetic: The Uni Sans font and sharp card designs create a dynamic, powerful feeling.
Modular Layouts: Workout cards, progress stats, and rankings use modular design to allow flexible expansion.
5. Problems & Solutions
Problems:
Users initially had difficulty distinguishing exercise types at a glance.
Some users mentioned feeling "flat" after logging workouts — no sense of accomplishment.
Solutions:
Added visual icons next to each category (e.g., dumbbell for strength, heartbeat for cardio).
Introduced color-coded labels to speed up visual recognition.
Expanded the gamification system: Introduced mini-goals (like "Complete 5 workouts this week!") and small victory animations after each workout.
6. Personal Learnings
Through Hevy, I learned the importance of balancing functionality and emotional design.
While tracking data is important, users are driven by feeling seen, rewarded, and celebrated.
Even small touches — like a badge, a friendly animation, or a well-organized workout list — can profoundly impact long-term engagement.
This project also strengthened my skills in:
Building motivational ecosystems inside apps
Prioritizing real-world usability for active users
Designing with modular flexibility for future scaling
Above all, Hevy reminded me that fitness isn’t just about numbers — it’s about the personal journey, and design should support that journey every step of the way.