type
case study
Mentor
Sandra Vickery
Duration
10 Weeks
Date
winter 2025
Problem
The United States leads high-income nations in obesity rates, with a stark 15-year life expectancy gap between economic classes that continues to widen as wealthy Americans gain longevity while those in poverty see no improvements in health outcomes.
Solution
ParkShare aims to research and address health disparities in low-income communities by developing a hybrid health solution combining digital tools and self-care practices to improve healthcare accessibility and foster positive lasting behavioral changes in underserved populations.
My Role
As a UX/UI Designer, I conducted ParkShare's individual case study, leading the end-to-end product design process through research, ideation, prototyping, and iterative refinements based on user testing.
01 Discovery
Secondary Research
When I began ParkShare's secondary research, I was interested in exploring pathways to longevity to develop a hybrid health solution able to combine digital tools and self-care practices accessible to everyone. I was startled to discover the significant gaps between life expectancy and income levels, particularly the stark health disparities in low-income areas.
Life Expectancy vs Income
The richest Americans live 10-15 years longer than the poorest Americans. Between 2001 and 2014, the wealthiest Americans gained approximately three years in life expectancy, while the poorest Americans saw no increase.
Centenarian Prevalence
Despite being one of the world's wealthiest nations, America has far fewer centenarians than Okinawa, Japan, which has four times as many per 100,000 people.
Key Lifestyle Elements
Dan Buettner and National Geographic identified blue zones in the early 2000s—areas where people live exceptionally long lives through plant-based diets, regular movement, and close family connections.
Nicoya, Costa Rica
Despite being considered a poor region, Nicoya, Costa Rica is recognized as a blue zone where residents regularly live past 100 years through their lifestyle practices of having life plans, plant-based diets, daily movement, and strong social connections. The discovery led me to explore how low-income Americans could potentially adopt similar practices to improve their life expectancy and close the longevity gap with wealthier populations.
02 Define
Primary Research
As I completed my primary research, it became clear my interest in pathways to longevity was guiding me to focus on health disparities in low-income communities. The significant gaps between life expectancy and income levels is a critical issue demanding innovative solutions to improve health outcomes for underserved populations.
User Interviews
With a focus on underserved populations in the USA, I conducted interviews and analyzed behavior patterns of individuals aged 25-35 who fell below a specific income threshold. The age range was chosen strategically, as young adults are usually establishing health habits and lifestyle patterns which can significantly impact their long-term wellbeing. As I gathered users observations, insights, and quotes, through an exercise of affinity maps, four themes emerged including motivational factors, social and community aspects, barriers and challenges and environmental influences.
"Can you elaborate, tell me more?"
~ Interviewer
"I'm able to connect with nature…"
~ User 1
"It's nice to motivate each other…"
~ User 2
"Why don't you take care of your body?…"
~ User 3
"Consistency is the foundation..."
~ User 4
"I think we're very social beings..."
~ User 5
Empathy Maps
To synthesize the user interviews, I created three empathy maps representing a nature lover, an adventurer, and a community-driven user to gain deeper insights into users' thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and pain points.
User Personas
Able to use the empathy maps as a foundation, I developed detailed user personas to better understand my target audience. Sarah, Jordan, and Jasmine were created with comprehensive profiles including demographic information, goals, needs, pain points, motivations, and frustrations. These personas helped guide ParkShare's design decisions and ensure features were optimized throughout the research and design phases.
How Might We (HMW)
Based on the user personas for ParkShare, I developed four "How Might We" questions focused on flexibility, discovery, accessibility, and connectivity. These questions were designed to spark creative problem-solving and help to start generating multiple potential solutions.
Flexibility
How might we enable flexible fitness routines for people with variable schedules?
Discovery
How might we help people discover and utilize outdoor spaces able to match specific user needs?
Accessibility
How might we make community and fitness activities more accessible and sustainable?
Connectivity
How might we connect people with similar fitness goals and schedules to create supportive communities?
User Stories Matrix
ParkShare's matrix of user stories encompasses features for personalized workout planning, location discovery, community engagement, fitness tracking, and mental wellness integration, all designed to create accessible and supportive experiences.
User Stories Affinity Mapping
Through an affinity mapping exercise, ParkShare's matrix was categorized to determine the minimum viable product. By referencing user personas, three priority categories emerged: outdoor space discovery, flexible fitness routines, and fitness community connections.
User Stories Minimum Viable Product
Based on user personas and prioritized categories, user journies are created for ParkShare's three MVP features: workout partner matching, customizable workout templates, and location filtering.
03 Information Architecture
Site Map
ParkShare's site map began with on onboarding process outlining five main sections: Explore for discovering parks and themes, Connect for social interactions and community events, GetFit for personalized workout and nutrition planning, Calendar for app and third party scheduling, and Profile for managing settings and tracking activities—all designed to create an integrated health and community platform.
User Flows
ParkShare's core user flows enable users to create customized workout templates and discover safe outdoor locations while building a supportive fitness community. These flows are designed to seamlessly integrate personal fitness planning with location-based features and social connectivity, allowing users to find workout partners, join groups, and share their fitness journey.
04 Ideation
Early Ideation
After establishing ParkShare's information architecture and user flows, I conducted two crazy 8 exercises to rapidly generate initial screen concepts. Through the rapid ideation process, several key design elements emerged as particularly effective:
Motivational components to encourage user engagement.
Intuitive exploration interfaces with maps and imagery, and…
Seamless calendar integration for activity planning.
Sketches to Low Fidelities
While thinking about sketches, I broke down the exercise into a few flows including the red routes before illustrating low fidelities in the following order:
Onboarding Flow: Guides users with initial app setup, account creation, and preference configuration.
Exploration Flow: Enables users to discover parks, activities, and outdoor locations based on interests.
Workout Flow: Facilitates creation, customization, and management of routines and fitness plans.
Connection Flow: Helps users find and connect with workout partners and fitness communities.
Additional Sections: Home screen personalized per user and Calendar screen for scheduling.
05 Visual Design
Mood Board
ParkShare Personality
ParkShare connects you with local outdoor spaces, fostering connections between people and places while promoting fitness and active lifestyles.
ParkShare Attributes
Welcoming, Active, Inclusive, Knowledgeable, Community-focused
ParkShare Image Inspiration
Active Fitness: Outdoor workouts and group exercise in parks.
Park Scenes: Beautiful landscapes and green urban spaces.
Community: Diverse groups enjoying outdoor activities together.
ParkShare UI Attributes
Clean, modern interface with nature-inspired elements.
Intuitive navigation with friendly iconography.
Welcoming design with rounded shapes.
Visual Style Guide
06 Implementation
Usability Testing Highlights
After completing high-fidelity screens, I conducted 2 rounds of usability testing to validate users could successfully complete the three core flows: Explore, Workout, and Connect. The first round revealed several navigation issues, confusion points, and bugs which were addressed in subsequent iterations. The second round of testing confirmed these improvements and showed significantly better task completion rates and user satisfaction.
Development Empty State
Problem: Users did not notice the gesture + direction notifications directing them to the "Start Workout!" button.
Solution: To improve the empty state, I added a black tint to the background and brought the "Start Workout!" button to the front. I also changed the message button's color from dark teal to bright orange to make it more eye-catching.
Development Workout
Problem: The original workout screen contained excessive prefilled information that made navigation confusing for users.
Solution: A minimalist approach was used, removing unnecessary images to guide users' attention directly to the "Choose Your Workout" section.
Development Connect
Problem: Users were confused about the "Friends" button functionality post-connection, didn't notice the page was scrollable, and found the presence of an older person misaligned with the app's target demographic.
Solution: The "Friends" button was relocated to the center of the screen, away from the CTA area. The bottom sheet was raised to reveal additional information, encouraging users to scroll down. The target demographic was also adjusted to users in their 20s as originally intended for the project.
Final Prototypes
These final prototypes incorporate all critical user feedback and demonstrate significant improvements in task completion rates across all three main flows: Explore, Workout, and Connect.
Welcome Login Screen
The "Welcome to ParkShare" screen features the app's logo, greets users, displays snapshots of key features, and includes a "Sign Up For Free" call-to-action button.
Users can scroll through highlighted features to get a general feel for ParkShare before signing up.
User Flow Explore
On the "Explore" page, users can search for locations using the search field or filter results by nearby locations and themes.
Users can switch between "Map" and "Photos" views to see location details like distance, amenities, and reviews. Maps help with navigation while photos show previews of each space.
Once a destination is “Bookmarked,” saved locations can be found in the “Profile” section under “My Favorite Places.”
User Flow Workout
On the "GetFit" page, users can toggle between "Workouts" and "Nutrition" tabs. The Workouts tab offers custom workout plans, while the Nutrition tab tracks dietary goals.
Under “MyWorkouts,” empty states clearly explain the "CoachAI" and "Start Workout!" buttons before users create their first workout.
Users can easily create a workout by clicking "+Add Workout," where they can search for and add their desired exercises, set intensity levels, and specify the number of sets.
Once a new workout is saved, users are encouraged to share, plan, and begin their new routine.
User Flow Connect
On the "Connect" page, users can toggle between "Friends" and "Community" tabs to find both existing connections and potential new friends for outdoor activities.
Once users create a profile with their interests and location, ParkShare suggests personalized friend and community matches to help them build their outdoor fitness network.
After connecting with someone new, users can view their complete profile and exchange messages.
Last Thoughts and Next Steps
Impacts & Results
User testing revealed 80% of participants found the app intuitive to navigate.
Strong positive feedback on community connection features and outdoor activity focus.
Successfully validated core features: location discovery, workout creation, and social connection.
Lessons Learned
Welcome and signup screens need clearer separation to reduce confusion.
Home screen requires additional context and explanatory text.
Performance issues during workout creation need addressing.
Future Opportunities
Should consider implementing a dedicated bookmarks section for easier access.
Test streamlining the GetFit section to reduce information overload.
Add a clear pause feature during workouts.
Personal Growth
Gained expertise in remote user testing methodologies.
Developed skills in synthesizing diverse user feedback.
Enhanced ability to identify and prioritize feature improvements.