KLEO
Project Overview
Kleo is a mobile app concept designed to support female athletes training independently after college or outside structured teams. While many fitness apps focus on general health or weight loss, there is a lack of tailored solutions for competitive athletes — especially women with sport-specific training goals.
Role: UX Designer
Tools: Figma
Platform: Mobile app (iOS/Android)
Problem Statement
Female athletes transitioning from collegiate or structured team environments often lose access to personalized coaching and training guidance. While existing apps offer generic workouts, they lack sport-specific programming, performance tracking, and motivational support designed for athletes training independently.
User problem:
• Athletes did not have a tailored system for sport-specific workout guidance.
• Existing fitness apps were too general, not performance-oriented.
• Users needed both structure and motivation specific to their sport.
Problem Statement
To understand athlete needs, I began by defining primary user goals:
User goals identified:
• Get sport-specific workout recommendations
• Track performance ability and progress
• Access motivation and training structure
• Sync workouts with smart devices
Although this was a concept project, I grounded assumptions in athlete behavior and secondary research on training routines for runners, weightlifters, and sport-based programming.
Activities included:
• Competitive analysis of 5 existing fitness and athlete apps
• Exploration of athlete training habits and pain points
• Creation of initial user personas
Key User Insights
From research and competitive review:
• Athletes want clear separation from basic fitness apps
• Sport choice and specialization is critical to workout relevance
• Progress tracking must be intuitive and motivating
• Navigation needs to be simple and predictable
Personas
To understand athlete needs, I began by defining primary user goals:
Jordan Ellis
Age: 27
Sport: Track & Field – 200m / 400m
Location: Atlanta, GA
Occupation: Corporate Recruite
Background: Jordan was a Division I sprinter who competed throughout college. After graduating, she no longer had access to structured team practices or a full-time coach. Although she still competes in regional meets and open track events, she now trains independently while working full time. Without daily oversight, Jordan relies on old training programs from college and pieces together workouts from memory. She misses the accountability, structure, and performance tracking she once had.
Goals
• Improve sprint time and explosive power
• Maintain competitive performance post-college
• Follow structured, sport-specific workouts
• Track lap times and performance metrics
• Stay motivated without a team environment
Tech Behavior
• Uses Apple Watch to time sprints
• Tracks workouts manually in Notes
• Watches sprint technique videos online
• Uses Instagram for athlete inspiration
Kleo can:
• Personalized sprint-based training plans
• Stopwatch integration within workout flow
• Clear daily structure (warm-up, drills, intervals, cooldown)
• Performance tracking and lap history
• Motivational challenges and goal setting
Maya Thompson
Age: 26
Sport: Olympic Weightlifting
Location: Chicago
Occupation: Physical Therapist
Background: Maya competed in collegiate weightlifting and now trains independently while working full time. She no longer has daily coaching support but still wants to compete regionally. She programs her own workouts but often questions whether her structure is optimal.
Goals
• Improve snatch and clean & jerk performance
• Track strength progression
• Prevent injury through structured programming
• Maintain competitive edge
Tech Behavior
• Uses smartwatch to track workouts
• Watches lifting breakdown videos on YouTube
• Tracks numbers manually in notes app
Kleo can:
• Offer structured performance cycles
• Track PR history
• Provide performance-based metrics
• Deliver athlete-focused nutrition plans
Sofia Martinez
Age: 31
Sport: Marathon & Distance Running
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Occupation: Marketing Manager
Background: Sofia ran Division II track in college. She now competes in half marathons and marathons while balancing a demanding career. She trains alone and misses the accountability of structured team training.
Goals
• Improve race times
• Follow structured endurance plans
• Track pace and recovery
• Avoid burnout
Tech Behavior
• Uses Apple Watch daily
• Tracks runs through Strava
• Reads training blogs
Kleo can:
• Provide adaptive endurance training plans
• Sync smartwatch metrics
• Offer motivational challenges
• Combine workout + nutrition + scheduling in one place
Problems with Original Concepts
During early feedback and walkthroughs, I identified the biggest usability issues in initial wireframes:
Usability challenges:
• Images in the selection screens were too close together → frequent mis-taps
• Misaligned elements (e.g., sports selection) created visual inconsistency
• Lack of clear interactive affordances (users weren’t sure where to tap)
These drove the first round of design improvements.
Design Process & Decisions
Navigation Redesign
I positioned key navigation at the bottom where mobile users expect it with clear icon labels:
• Statistics
• Calendar
• Workout
• Meal
• Connect
• Profile
This made the structure predictable and thumb-friendly.
Final Look
Wire frame
Personal Quiz
Users first choose their sport and specify positions or events.
Choices were restructured into clearly boxed, tappable elements to avoid mis-selections.
Iteration decision:
From free-form images → structured boxes with consistent spacing and clickable area, to improve accessibility and reduce errors.
Home / Workout Experience
The workout screen displays daily training:
• A “Start” button initiates workout view
• Each exercise is listed with clear labels
• Time-based workouts for runners include stopwatch component
The page was designed to reduce cognitive load and focus attention on progress.
Workout Session Flow
Once initiated:
• Active workouts stay highlighted
• Completed exercises fade/grayout
• Progress feels clear and sequential
This mirrors real training routines where athletes follow sequence flow.
Smartwatch Integration
Recognizing that athletes train on the go:
I designed a smartwatch interface that syncs to Kleo, allowing:
• Workout progression tracking
• Stopwatch/guided routine display
• Quick access without phone
This improves accessibility and real workout adoption.
Meal Page
Nutrition suggestions were added to support performance not just calorie counting.
This addresses athlete-specific dietary needs (protein timing, fueling, recovery) instead of generic fitness diets.
