Mudita Center
a desktop application for managing and updating Mudita devices, emphasizing user privacy and cross-platform compatibility
INTRODUCTION
Motion Potion, developed during the 48-hour Junction Hackathon, emerged as a creative response to Huawei's "Sense the Motion" challenge. The project aimed to motivate youth to be more physically active and support mental health through innovative mobile and wearable device features.
MY ROLE
In this rapid development context, I co-designed the app alongside another UX designer. Our collaborative efforts were focused on conceptualizing the product, integrating user research, and ensuring the app's design effectively addressed the challenge's objectives. We worked closely to iterate designs, develop prototypes, and refine user experience strategies.
TEAM
2 designers, 3 software engineers
TOOLS
Miro, Figma
PROBLEM DISCOVERY
Many of us live a sedentary lifestyle induced by mobile devices.
Sedentary lifestyles and mental health issues of children and adolescents present a pressing global issue, imposing significant societal costs and long-term health consequences. While wearable devices and mobile phones offer an array of sensors for activity tracking and insights into daily routines, many still fall short in meeting the recommended daily level of physical activity. Our mission is to motivate children and adolescents to embrace an active lifestyle and support their overall health by using wearable and mobile technology.
HMW design an engaging fitness solution that inspires physical activity? 🌟
OUR SOLUTION - MOTION POTION
Transforming physical activity into a ✨magical✨ and engaging experience.
Explore, move, and create magic
As users collect mystical ingredients, cast spells, and unlock new chapters in the story, they perform physical activities, transforming routine exercises into an exciting and rewarding game.
Transforming exercises into steps in an interactive, story-driven adventure.
GAMIFICATION OF FITNESS
Motion Potion utilizes advanced signal processing and motion tracking to transform the user's physical activity into a magical adventure. By detecting the user's movements, the app creates an immersive, game-like experience that encourages continuous interaction and exercise, without the need for augmented reality.
Turning everyday surroundings into an interactive, enchanting fitness playground.
MOTION TRACKING INTEGRATION
The app utilizes advanced motion tracking technologies, allowing users to engage in physical activities like walking or moving their arms to collect mystical ingredients and progress through an enchanting narrative, making fitness fun and magical.
Combines signal processing and motion tracking to create an engaging and interactive adventure.
HOW IT WORKS?
🌟 The process 🌟
EXPLORING THE PROBLEM SPACE
Sedentary lifestyles pose major health and societal concerns.
The research phase involved analyzing the technology usage habits of adolescents. According to a Pew Research Center study, a significant majority of teens are heavily engaged with digital platforms, with about 90% using YouTube. Other platforms like TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram also show high usage rates among teens, with 63%, 60%, and 59% respectively. Daily usage statistics reveal that 58% of teens use TikTok and about half use Snapchat and Instagram daily, highlighting their deep integration into teens' daily routines.
Research from Johns Hopkins Medicine highlights the clear risks associated with physical inactivity, including a higher likelihood of developing high blood pressure, an increased risk for type 2 diabetes, and a greater probability of suffering from coronary heart disease. The lack of physical activity contributes significantly to mental health issues, exacerbating feelings of anxiety and depression, and may even increase the risk of certain cancers. Importantly, regular physical activity was shown to considerably reduce these risks, even in overweight or obese individuals.
DEFINING USER PERSONA
Consolidating our key insights into a persona.
Jenni
16, highschool student
Lifestyle 🤸♀️
Digital native, constantly connected
Access to urban facilities but predominantly indoor-oriented.
Active on social media, influenced by digital trends.
Pain points 😥
Struggles to find exercise engaging or worthwhile.
Easily distracted by mobile devices.
Academic and social pressures contribute to mental strain, yet lacks drive for active stress relief.
Placing the persona in an ideal context scenario helps identify the minimum required functions of our MVP.
APPROACHING THE SOLUTION
At this stage, our primary goal is to extract a list of design requirements that we have to support in order for these ideal scenarios to happen. These requirements would then lead our idea generation phase.
Design goals
Encouraging activity 🏋️
Incentivize movement by intertwining physical exercise with engaging game mechanics, prompting users to perform real-world actions to progress in the game.
Interactive 🎯
Create an immersive experience that transforms the user's surroundings into a magical playground, thereby deepening user engagement and interaction.
Fun 🌟
Captivate users by weaving their fitness activities into a larger narrative, providing a compelling context for regular exercise.
Consideration for our persona's context directed a user flow focusing on incorporating movement at each step.
SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE
Throughout this flow, the physical movements required by the user to interact with the app not only ensure engagement with the game mechanics but also promote physical activity as users perform specific gestures to advance through the quests. This method of incorporating movement into the gameplay is a key feature of Motion Potion, as it cleverly ties the digital experience to real-world physical actions.
I want to catch a frog that’s nearby
I want to make a potion out of the ingredients I collected
ITERATIONS OVER 48H
User-centric iterations that enriched engagement, narrative depth, and gratification.
During the intense 48-hour coding sprint at the Junction hackathon, our team focused on evolving the Motion Potion app to make it more engaging and user-friendly. The key was to ensure that each iteration directly addressed user needs, enhancing the storytelling aspect, and providing immediate gratification for achievements within the app.
1. Introducing potion crafting
Initially, Motion Potion centered around spell casting (and wasn’t even called Motion Potion!). To deepen user engagement, we introduced a potion crafting feature, which allowed users to create magical concoctions, adding a new layer of interaction.
2. Quest implementation
To weave a compelling narrative into the user experience, we integrated quests delivered by an in-app avatar. This addition gave users clear goals and a sense of purpose, making the exercise journey more meaningful.
3. Adding animations
To inject a sense of achievement and delight, we implemented vibrant animations that play upon the completion of tasks. This visual feedback loop not only increased the fun factor but also reinforced the gamification elements of the app.
THE FINAL MVP PRODUCT
Transform your daily walks into a spellbinding adventure, and watch as your world becomes a playground of magical discoveries! 🧙
The MVP developed during the hackathon includes an interactive system for exercise and magic, engaging storytelling for fitness challenges, and features for mental health monitoring, emphasizing emotion recognition.
Spell casting 🪄
Potion mixing ⚗️
Onboarding 🐸
Showcased the potential of technology in transforming fitness and mental health interventions.
PROJECT TAKEAWAYS
🌟 Incorporating complex technologies like signal processing and motion tracking into Motion Potion was a significant aspect of my work. This integration showcased my proficiency in harmonizing advanced technology with intuitive design. It underscored my capability to create products that are not only technologically sophisticated but also user-friendly and engaging.
🌟 Working in the high-pressure, fast-paced environment of a hackathon, I efficiently managed project deliverables and timing. This experience highlighted my strong organizational skills and resilience, proving my ability to navigate challenging timelines and maintain high-quality output under pressure.