Juvo
Connecting physical activity with the world of music.
Improve the health and wellness of teenagers between the ages of 15 to 19
Our team of 6 multidisciplinary designers developed and presented our project at Base Milano for Politecnico di Milano. I was responsible for building Juvo's system and service, mapping out the user's journey, and designing the digital application.
My role
Digital Product & Service Designer
Team
Laura Casella, Ivan Peñaranda, Ching-Chun Yu, Nicole Sacchetti, Elisa Scrignar, and Lana Nguyen
Year
2018 - 2019
Imagine...
yourself as a 13-year-old middle school student who manages to play sport, get good grades, and spend time with friends.
As you grow older and reach age 18, you struggle to balance it all: sports, education, and your social life.
You need to let go of one.
Which one will it be?
EMPATHIZE & DEFINE
Problem
In our preliminary research, we discovered an increase in high school sport dropouts and sedentary lifestyles in teens. To synthesize our research, we identified three main problems teens face:
26%
sport dropout in teens 14 to 15 yrs old
(Sports and Fitness Industry Association).
1.
2.
3.
Difficulty balancing education, social life, and physical activity in high school.
Out of 2,185 students surveyed, 36% of girls wanted to focus more on studying and getting good grades, compared to 26% of boys.
(ESPN, 2013).
Increase of sedentary lifestyle because of high drop out in high school level sports.
Globally, 4/5 of adolescents do not reach recommended levels of physical activity.
(BMC Public Health, 2017).
Female teens are 1.5x more likely to drop out of sports compared to males. (Gatorade's "Girls in Sports" study).
Reasons correlate with various issues related to social media, nutrition, socio-economic background, and mental health.
How may we promote active lifestyles among teens, especially females, who live sedentary lifestyles?
User research
First, we synthesized existing research from scientific literature and open-source information. This helped us frame our user's demographic and socioeconomic status in the context of the United States and Italy. Then, we collected qualitative and quantitative data by surveying 57 teens and interviewing 4 active female students. We asked about their physical activity background and reasons for living a sedentary lifestyle. We discovered that female teenagers quit sports because of:
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Difficulty balancing school and social life.
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The intense training that leads to injuries
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Lack of interest in playing sports in the future.
Federica
17 yrs old
Milan, Italy
"We (girls) quit sports due to the amount of studying and prefer to spend our free time on our social life."
Connie
19 yrs old
New York City, U.S.
"The reason why teenagers quit sports are related to safety concerns, but also because it's difficult to balance the schedule of activities."
Kaitlyn
15 yrs old
New Jersey, U.S.
"It's better to focus on my education because I believe I do not have a future in playing professional sports."
Understanding the market
Before ideating concepts, we analyzed 10 products and services that motivate teenagers to return to an active lifestyle. We discovered the market opportunity lies at the center of our positioning map. It shows that new products or services should focus on accessibility and flexibility. It should provide unconventional and conventional activities. We discovered that teenagers are seeking unconventional ways to do physical activities. From the chart, we concluded three case studies that were most relevant for our users: Brooklyn Zoo, Garmin Vivofit, and Fitfam.
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8
9
10
Garmin Vivofit JR2
Activity tracker combined with a digital personal trainer to help set goals.
Fitfam
Volunteer-led non profit fitness community that strengthens social connection.
Conventional
Activity
For Kids
1
2
3
5
6
7
4
10
8
9
For Adults
Unconventional
Activity
Brooklyn Zoo
A "parkour gym" of unconventional physical activity specific for each user.
What motivates teenagers to keep doing physical activity?
IDEATE
Brainstorming a concept
Analysis from our user research showed that teenagers are motivated to do physical activity if the activities are:
Dancefloor metaphor
Our goal was to develop a flexible and accessible product service that builds strong social connections and keeps teens active. To kick-start our concept, we chose "dancefloor" as a metaphor. It symbolizes a free and self-expressive environment where teenagers can dance, connect with people, and feel confident. We associate the dancefloor with music. At the age where adolescents are building their own identity. Music is an important way of self-expression and creates a strong sense of community. Especially during the age when adolescents are building their own identities.
Step into music
We did many rapid brainstorming sessions, concept generations, and iterations before settling on an idea. Our final idea is a physical activity tracking device that syncs to the rhythm of the music. It helps motivate teenagers to do physical activity through a reward-point system. Our team decided to create a mobile app and have it function as a low-barrier unified medium for users to access the Juvo devices and services.
Relieve academic stress
Self-gratifying
Improve social life
Therefore, we developed Juvo.
where teens can stay active, socialize, and support their favorite local artists.
What is Juvo?
Juvo is a product and service that motivates teenagers to stay active by connecting physical activity with the world of music. It combines all the elements of fun, flexibility, and personalization. It is a unique way to do physical activity and allows the user to “step” into the world of independent music before, during, and after the exercise.
Service
Juvo service provides customized workouts based on their SoundCloud playlist or their music taste.
Product
Juvo devices connect the rhythm of the song to the rhythm of the user's steps during the training. When training, the user builds "physical activity" points. They can use the points to access events and concerts supporting local artists on SoundCloud.
How does Juvo work?
1.
MP3 Clip
Allows the user to listen to music offline while training.
2.
Movement trackers
Two trackers monitor physical activity. Each one attaches to the shoes with a silicone case and syncs to each step of the user while training, to monitor and calculate physical activity.
3.
Juvo Mobile Application
The app functions as an all-in-one medium for the user to control their Juvo devices and services. The app provides customized playlists based on the user's SoundCloud music and goal-based workouts for the user to do. The purpose of the app is to incentivize users to build points every time they do physical activity. The users can redeem the points for discounted concert tickets by independent SoundCloud artists.
Personalized music-based trainings
Access ticket for events
Support for independent artists
PROTOTYPE
Juvo mobile app
User flow
Our team set off to create a health monitoring experience with 4 core features: Training and track activity, Build points, Train with friends, and Access concerts from independent artists. We created many service offerings and it was getting difficult to organize the information and not steer away from our vision. So, I created a user flow to help simplify the offerings and paint a clear vision of the different avenues a user can take.
Wireframing
For the visual design structure, we took inspiration from social media and music applications. We wanted to make the app feel less like a physical activity tracker and more like a community-focused platform. Thus, users can support their favorite artists through physical activity. For the wireframes, I decided to use Adobe Illustrator because it was the tool I was most proficient in with our short amount of time.
Iterations
⚠️ Lack of visual hierarchy and using colors judiciously.
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Text is difficult to read again the red on the bottom navbar.
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Inconsistency with using the red color for interactive and non-interactive elements.
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Paragraph texts are too small.
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Buttons are too small.
Before
✅ Increase readability and improve visual hierarchy
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Had more time to review the iOS guidelines and iterate the UI design.
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Used color to call attention to important information and interactive elements.
After
Final outcome
As a result of the project, we delivered the Juvo mobile app. It combines physical activity with the music community. Thus, making physical activity fun and self-gratifying for our users. We incentivize users through a rewards-point system so they can give back to the community and support their favorite music artists.
1.
Keep track and build up your physical activity points
Choose among different types of training modes from walking, running to dance cardio. Train to the beat of your songs by syncing your SoundCloud playlist. Pace your steps to follow the rhythm of the songs to earn points.
2.
Connect and train with friends to earn more points
Send meeting invitations to friends to train together. Sync your playlists together and move to the beat of the music.
3.
Discover concert events and support local artists
Browse local artist's concerts and redeem your physical activity points to acces discounts.
Takeaways
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Teambuilding before diving into the work
Early on, our multidisciplinary team discussed our strengths and weakness. We established archetypes so that each member understood their role and responsibilities on the team. This helped us meet our deliverables and help each other improve on our skills. It important to maintain a good personal and work relationship with your team to discuss problems and build consensus.
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Reevaluate the "Why" before the "How/What"
During our concept generation, we pitched three different products that kept teenagers active. All three ideas were too product-oriented and lacked a strong "why". Why are we creating these devices? What are the benefits for stakeholders involved? Does it create a social impact? To build a stronger service-system experience, we needed to revisit our "why" before jumping into the "how" and "what". We reevaluated our value proposition and focused on creating social impact for the community through music. Thus, we were able to develop Juvo.
Challenges
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Information overload
This project was very research-heavy. With a limited amount of time, it was difficult to synthesize our research down and establish a more specific targeted user. We could have formulated a better research plan and explored different design methods, such as affinity mapping. It would've helped consolidate our insights quicker.
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Is this technologically feasible?
Our team had no engineering knowledge. So we spoke with engineering students from Politecnico to help us prototype a pedometer and an accelerometer. Using Arduino, we were able to monitor and measure the number of steps and calculate movement for the Juvo tracking devices. But due to time, we were unable to develop the software to calculate and match the physical activity points to the number of steps taken to the beat of a song.
Next steps
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User testing on devices
Tested on 10 users, the Arduino had a 9/10 success rate. If we figure out how to convert the Arduino into a smaller chip, we can test the software once it fits inside the tracking devices. We will continue to collect user feedback and be prepared to change the form of the device accordingly.
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User testing on the mobile app
Our mobile application was tested on users who were not teenagers. So, we will need to test on our targeted users to understand if our app offers a plethora of services that could be overwhelming or unviable over time. We'll continue to collect more user feedback on the high-fidelity designs to improve the user experience and visual design of the app. It will be important to test the app on multiple platform devices, such as smartwatches.
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