Nick Biami - UX/UI Designer

Motiv. Fitness App

How might we motivate and inform those with anxiety and depression about the discovered benefits of physical activity on their mental health through digital means?

Phone with floating UI tiles surrounding

Overview

Client:

University of Las Vegas Nevada

My Role:

UX/UI Designer

Year:

2023

Tools Used:

Adobe XD, Photoshop, Illustrator

TL;DR

Motiv. is a mobile app designed to empower individuals with anxiety & depression by integrating the mental health benefits of physical activity. By delivering personalized workouts, empathetic guidance, & community support, Motiv. helps users build resilience & sustainable healthy habits, transforming exercise into a practical tool for improved mental well-being. This case study explores how research, user insights, & iterative design helped shape an experience that empowers users to take control of their mental & physical health one step at a time.

View Prototype

Understanding the Problem

Discovery

Having several people close to me suffer from anxiety and depression, this issue remains close to my heart. To understand them I first had to validate this research was significant enough to build a product around.

User Surveys & Interviews

I surveyed 37 participants (ages 18–29, all genders, with anxiety and depression) about their physical activity habits, mental health, motivation, and what they knew about physical activities impact on their cognition. Here are the common threads I found:

Physical Activity

Feedback

"I enjoy working out with friends when possible, usually keeping a low to moderate pace, and I track my progress with mental notes or an app."

Insights

Activity is a social event

Minimum to moderate effort

No physical record is common

Motivation

Feedback

"I prioritize working out for my mental health, but discipline and mental hurdles often hold me back, even though I always feel much better afterward."

Insights

Trouble getting motivated

Always sees improvement after

Works out for mental health

Mental Health

Feedback

"When I’m feeling depressed, I talk to my friends, and despite knowing I’ll have a good outcome I often need convincing to start moving."

Insights

People need community when depression hits

Knowing the outcome makes little difference

From these aggregated facts I was able to make an inference on who my target users would be. This persona takes into account the most common issues the survey group expressed.

Amber

Name

Amber

Age

Location

Urban Area

Education

Engineering Student at University

Occupation

Part-time bar-back

Income level

Moderate to low disposable income

"I love being active, but it’s so hard to motivate myself to do even the simplest things."

Amber experiences mild anxiety & occasional depression, worsened by academic pressures & the pandemic. Her physical activity has declined, & she’s seeking non-medication ways to boost mental health. Active on Instagram, TikTok, and Reddit, she engages with mental health & wellness communities.

Frustrations

Lack of motivation: Finds it hard to take the first step toward regular exercise.
Overwhelming information: Online wellness tips feel too generic and not actionable.
Physical activity feels intimidating: Gym culture or running alone can seem unwelcoming and isolating.

Motivations

Science-backed insights: Wants to know the impact of actions on mental health.
Social accountability: Being part of a community or having a virtual “buddy” keeps them engaged.
Small wins: Prefers quick, actionable, and achievable goals

Goals

Improve mental/physical health
Create sustainable habits
Feel connected

Market Research

After extensive research on the Google and Apple app stores I found where physical activity and mental health meet is a hole in the market for an app that can solve issues related to motivation, connection, and activity recommendation. The apps that do involve mental health don’t involve physical activity as a potential remedy.

Hypothesis

We believe users that struggle with anxiety and depression may benefit from an app that changes behavior using social motivation, daily personalized recommendation, and useful information about how to improve.

My Approach

UX Design Process

I will create a supportive mobile app that helps users manage anxiety and depression through movement. By combining empathetic guidance with actionable motivation, it fosters resilience, self-efficacy, and lasting habits. Users receive personalized workouts, track progress, and connect with a supportive community, making exercise a sustainable tool for mental well-being.

Challenges

Mental health is difficult to talk about. How can we design empathetically as to not suggest this solution is the only solution for everyone? What choices can we make to not overwhelm the user and add to their already difficult time?

How do we motivate the hardest demographic to motivate?

What choices can we make to not overwhelm the user and add to their already difficult time?

Mental health is difficult to talk about. How can we design empathetically as to not suggest this solution is the only solution for everyone?

Key Features

Activity Tracker

By keeping track of the users mental health they can see visual see improvement per workout or over time.

Personalized Recommendations

A personalized activity based on the users questionnaire answers will give the user perceived behavioral control.

Community Page

The user can keep track of their mental state after the activity, and determine what worked for them.

Fidelity Process

Low-Fi

Naturally with a health app there will be many metrics to decipher. The goal was to not overwhelm users with too many suggestions or graphs right away since being active is the main target. So, how do we create a homepage which offers value but remains pleasing to be on?

Mid-Fi Revisions

Simplifying the apps system and nailing the homepage was a challenge. I wanted to give encouraging and helpful information without having visual clutter, pushing away the vulnerable user base. Initial designs involved a card carousel and disjointed sections giving little information. Through a survey I learned users prefer more accurate looking metrics and positive feedback to keep them motivated.

Version 1

Version 2

Version comparison after feedback and hierarchical restructuring.

Hi-Fi

After collaborating with some colleagues on which layout would work best we arrived at the one that would inform a design system that fit the goal. It includes motivating imagery, texture overlays, solid color blocking and an approachable tone. Several solutions made the final cut and define the product as a multi-step approach to dampening depression and anxiety.

Final iteration of Motiv. including improved hierarchy and layout.

Branding

Motiv. in the Making

A logo mark was key to conveying the brand's essence, especially at app size. Drawing inspiration from social interaction, growth, and physical activity, I sketched 6 initial concepts guided by these keywords:

Health

Modern

Vitality

Vibrant

Organic

Early ideas and sketches for the Motiv. logo.

Meet Motiv.

Motiv. uses hues found in inviting and familiar environments to invoke emotions outside of the user. Depression requires hope for the future and motivation to move forward, to dig ourselves out of a hole. These hues motivate and recall feelings of excitement but are used in ways that don't overwhelm.

The mark combines ideas of a psychology and movement using straight lights that form a brain making a simple but effective logo.

A Note on Accessibilty

To help ensure Motiv. is accessible to all it's users I ran the color palette through WebAim's accessibility checker and all colors, in their specific use cases depicted here, resulted in at least a 4.54:1 contrast ratio.

young person holding a bag that says motive on it

Phthalo Green

#173B23

Outdoors

Tranquility

Prosperity

Yellow Green

#B9E84D

Young

Healthy

Natural

Canvas

#F4EFEA

Natural

Longevity

Calm

Crayola Orange

#B74B24

Enthusiasm

Excitement

Motivation

Mint

#EDF8F5

Healthcare

Tranquility

Prosperity

In Hindsight

TLDR

This project took place at the end of my college courses and helped me lean into creative problem-solving and user centered design. The problem I was trying to solve still exists today and seems to grow every year. As we receive new data I'd like to keep updating this project to include new expanded features. Due to Adobe's discontinuation of XD, which was the most popular platform at the time, I will have to iterate on this in Figma which I am much more skilled in now then I ever was in XD.

In the future I want to:
1. Post launch test more thoroughly.
2. Develop an onboarding process that helps the user understand the techniques at play.
3. Determine if a smart watch interface would benefit the user based on their feedback and current habits.
4. Test the return rate for user that experience higher levels of depression and anxiety.

I want to make clear that this project deals with serious mental health issues and it is in no way suggesting activity is a "cure" or "remedy" for anxiety and depression in anybody. It is merely a way to dampen symptoms.

Motiv is a mobile app designed to empower individuals with anxiety and depression by integrating the mental health benefits of physical activity. By delivering personalized workouts, empathetic guidance, and community support, Motiv helps users build resilience and sustainable healthy habits—transforming exercise into a practical tool for improved mental well-being.

View Prototype

TLDR

View Motiv.