Hatch Squat

Including:

Audit

UX Research

UI Design

Overview —

The Hatch Squat cycle is a valuable 12-week is a strength program for intermediate and advanced weightlifters developed by Olympic weightlifting coach Gayle Hatch. This program has the user squatting twice per week at varying rep schemes and percentages during each session.

This project was a redesign of an existing app that I used to workout. The original interface was clunky and hindering to use, a redesign was severely needed.

The Goal: Create an effective workout app that helps users get stronger and focus on their workouts.

Research —

The original app (below) was little more than a spreadsheet and inconvenient to use. I personally had been using the app for over a month and could clearly see where it was helping me and where it was failing me. The only benefit over a printed version was the convenience of it being on an iPhone, a device I always have with me.

As a lover of fitness and kinesiology, I knew the structure of this workout plan was paramount and needed a better delivery in order to aid the user. The previous design required a user who was already familiar with the idea of the Hatch Squat program and already had experience with an intense squatting program. This was an issue for intermediate lifters who were just starting out with a more advanced program and in need of guidance and clarification. However, the biggest issue in the app is that it doesn't automatically pick up were the user last left off, meaning if you were in week 10 you had to scroll all the way down.

Original Design —

Pain Points —

The layout was inefficient and hindered usability
The program was written for knowledgeable athletes, excluding a large group of potential users
The app required users to go outside of it for other tools necessary used while working out

Old design adds unnecessary friction

Development —

To solve the aforementioned issues, the app was broken down to its core features and with a list of additional traits that would improve the experience of using the app while contributing towards its purpose. This included possibly adding a stopwatch, a picture/video uploader, a weight tracker, and a strength tracker.

The strongest part of the Hatch Squat app is the weight calculator that always tells the user how much they need to lift and when. This is the main function of the app and all other features were built with this in mind. In order to be more accessible to a larger range of athletes, the knowledge gap needed to be shortened. Currently, the app excepts the user to already be informed of not only the Hatch Squat program but also on how to test for a "1RM," the 1 rep max. To solve this problem, an onboarding section and other assist points were needed to add clarity.

Features to improve UX

1. Automatically pick up where the user last left off

2. Provide access to information for a range of levels

3. House all additional workout tools

User Flow: Start and finish of a workout —

User Flow: Checking user progress —

Lo-fi Wireframes —

The layout is direct, legible, and clutter-free, all in effort to create a more positive and energetic workout experience.

Start-up —

Workout —

Additional Features —

Visuals —

Once I was satisfied with the layout, I began building a visual identity for the app. This started with vibrant, gender-neutral colors that would be inviting to all users. I applied this to simple elements to make the app visually pleasing yet still direct and easy to use. For the typeface, I used the friendly, geometric Opensans. I kept the original name and created a new brand mark to represent the redesign.