Nov 2022—Feb 2023 · research, information architecture, multi-device exploration and V1 prototype.
INTERACTION DESIGN / NATIVE iOS
V1 2022—23
V2 PRODUCTIZATION
KALOOP
The product idea
A fitness plan that bends with real life—then pairs the next meal to what you actually did.
Interactive prototype
01 / 06
Start with today
A busy day begins with one clear next action.
A product, not a content feed
The plan changes.
The intention doesn’t.
Kaloop began as a broad multi-device fitness concept. I reduced it to one defensible loop: plan, adapt, train, refuel and see progress. The current work turns that loop into a native SwiftUI product for App Store preparation.
V2 productization · focused native iOS scope, behavioral prototype and App Store preparation.
I own the research synthesis, product framing, interaction system and visual direction. AI accelerated implementation and verification; it did not supply participant findings or product decisions.
01 / FORMATIVE RESEARCH
Consistency breaks
before motivation does.
I combined questionnaires, observation and conversations with people at the gym to understand why good intentions fail to become a repeatable routine. This early research shaped the problem definition; it is separate from the planned V2 usability study.
20people reached
12men
8women
3methods: questionnaire, observation, conversation
How the research worked
Map routines and barriers
Captured exercise experience, consistency patterns and the moments when intended workouts stopped fitting real life.
See decisions in context
Observed how people approached the gym, selected activities and handled uncertainty around what to do next.
Test the audience opportunity
Gym conversations and the Lujiazui fitness-space discussion clarified the opportunity beyond experienced users: busy knowledge workers and students entering or restarting exercise.
Themes that framed the product
- 01
Starting is easier than staying consistent
Beginners often lose momentum when the routine is unclear or feels too demanding to resume.
- 02
Real days do not follow fixed plans
Available time, energy, equipment and physical condition can change between planning and training.
- 03
Guidance needs to preserve control
A recommendation is more useful when people can understand it, adjust it and decide before it changes their plan.
- 04
Training and eating are one daily decision
Separating workout guidance from practical meal choices leaves the routine incomplete after training ends.
Audience focus
A broad gym audience, with one clear product priority.
Conversations around the Lujiazui gym project covered users across age groups. The opportunity was not to replace the existing advanced fitness community, but to make the experience more approachable for office workers and students entering or returning to exercise.
White-collar knowledge workers
Design and finance professionals with demanding, variable schedules and the means to invest in health.
Students building a routine
Younger users who need approachable guidance, structure and practical choices.
Experienced fitness users
Committed exercisers already served by specialist training and gym culture; not the first Kaloop MVP priority.
Primary persona / The Routine Builder
Lina Chen
Woman · 34
Financial analyst · Lujiazui
Restarting beginner
Lina is a mid-career financial analyst in Lujiazui. She spends most of the day at a desk, works around reporting deadlines and usually trains at a gym near the office. She has restarted fitness plans several times: enthusiasm gets her through the first week, but one late close or missed session can break the rhythm. She wants enough structure to act without researching every workout and meal herself.
“I don’t need a perfect plan. I need one I can still follow when work runs late.”Synthesized statement, not a verbatim participant quote
Goals
- Train two or three times a week without restarting from zero.
- Know the most useful workout for the time available today.
- Choose a practical post-workout meal that supports her goal.
Frustrations
- Rigid plans turn one missed session into a failed week.
- Too many exercises and conflicting nutrition tips create hesitation.
- She cannot tell why an app changes her plan or what she will lose.
Behaviors
- Plans workouts on Sunday, then adjusts around deadlines.
- Uses her phone between work and the gym to decide what to do.
- Prefers short explanations and visible progress over social competition.
Key scenario
At 7:20 p.m., a reporting deadline leaves Lina only 20 minutes instead of the planned 45. Kaloop explains a shorter session, lets her accept or keep the original, then pairs dinner to what she actually completed.
Secondary persona / The Guided Starter
Ethan Zhao
Man · 22
Graduate student · Yangpu
First-time routine builder
Ethan studies interaction technology in Yangpu and moves between classes, project work and a limited student budget. He is willing to exercise, but unfamiliar gym equipment, long programs and expensive meal plans make it difficult to start. He needs bodyweight-first guidance, affordable recipes and a visible sense of progress.
“Show me what is realistic today, and help me understand whether I am improving.”Synthesized statement, not a verbatim participant quote
Goals
- Build a three-day routine around classes without needing a gym membership.
- Find affordable meals that support training without tracking every calorie.
Frustrations
- Expert language and equipment-heavy plans make beginner content feel inaccessible.
- A missed day makes streak-based apps feel punitive rather than useful.
Behaviors
- Exercises in a dorm room or campus space and saves simple recipes for later.
- Uses short evening meditation when project work makes it difficult to wind down.
Key scenario
After an afternoon class, Ethan has 25 minutes before a group meeting. Kaloop proposes a bodyweight session, pairs it with an affordable dinner and keeps the missed morning plan from becoming a failed day.
02
Product model
One connected day.
Plan
Build a feasible week.
Adapt
Preview the consequence.
Train
Protect progress through interruption.
Refuel
Pair a meal to today.
Progress
Make continuity visible.
Market context / directional review
Not another content library or workout log.
This is a positioning review of public product emphasis—not a claim of measured superiority.
Guided classes and broad fitness content.
Workout logging, history and strength tracking.
Generated workouts informed by training history.
A visible, reversible daily loop connecting plan changes, completed training and the next meal.
03 / CORE EXPERIENCE
A week in view.
One action in focus.
Plan holds the context. Today selects the next action. Workout makes the commitment explicit. Each screen has one job, but state carries across all three.
04 / SIGNATURE INTERACTION
Adjust today.
Keep the goal.
A missed session should not become a failed program. The system proposes a smaller commitment, explains what changes and waits for the person to decide.
- 01Preserve the purpose of the session.
- 02Show consequences before committing.
- 03Keep both outcomes reversible.
The system proposes. The person decides.
Rejected interaction
A recommendation must not look like a decision already made.
The earlier direction emphasized the adjusted workout but made the original plan and the moment of commitment too easy to miss. I rejected it because people could interpret the proposal as an automatic change. The final sheet keeps both outcomes visible and delays commitment until the person chooses.
- Risk
- Silent commitment
- Design principle
- Preview before change
05 / RECIPE PAIRING
Recipe is not a fifth tab.
It closes the loop.
Today pairs breakfast, lunch and dinner to the selected goal and workout. A secondary flow reveals real ingredients, estimated nutrition and a reversible local save state.
INPUTGoal + workout, not inferred health data
CONTROLRationale before recommendation
MEMORYOn-device, visible and reversible
06 / MEDITATION · ZEN
A calmer mode
for the same day.
Zen is Kaloop’s entry to Meditation: body scan, guided breathing, sleep transition and a quiet timer. Wind Down is one practice, not the whole feature. Preset durations reduce friction, custom duration preserves control, and core guidance works offline without an AI service.
Low commitment5, 10 and 15 minute presets
User controlCustom duration, pause and resume
Offline firstLocal timing and guided cues
07 / V1 → V2
Not a makeover.
A product decision trail.
V1 is preserved in its 2022–23 context. V2 narrows the promise, establishes a native information architecture and makes the key behavior testable.
Generic cards made every action feel equally important.
Turn Today into an orchestration surface, not a feed.
One primary action, clear session identity and an explicit recovery entry.
Native journeys now reach review, recovery, playback and Recipe persistence.
MVP scope decisions
Prove the loop before expanding the ecosystem.
Plan, same-day adaptation, workout execution, Recipe pairing, Meditation and progress—the smallest set that carries one intention through a real day.
Social feeds, creator-led classes, coaching marketplaces and multi-platform delivery. Each adds content, moderation or operational scale before the daily loop is validated.
Native iOS first, inspectable recommendations and reversible on-device state. The constraint reduces release risk and keeps consequential behavior visible.
08 / EVIDENCE BOUNDARY
Working behavior.
Honest claims.
Formative research defined the problem; the SwiftUI MVP makes adaptation, interruption and Recipe persistence testable. Neither is a claim of completed V2 usability validation or App Store release.
5connected phases
2explicit adaptation outcomes
3protected interruption states
0silent plan changes
Research and release appendix
Questionnaires, observation and gym conversations with 20 people informed the problem and persona, supported by behavioral and public-health guidance.
A six-participant, four-task study is prepared but not yet conducted.
Privacy review, human validation and submission remain before release.
08 / OUTCOME
A working product.
An honest design case.
The value is not a polished set of screens. It is the path from a broad idea to explicit, inspectable product behavior.
A focused five-phase product model, a complete interaction specification and a working native MVP.
Adaptation choices, interruption recovery and reversible local Recipe persistence behave coherently across the core journey.
Target-user comprehension, sustained adherence or health outcomes. A six-person moderated study remains the next evidence gate.
Complete physical-device validation, privacy and support URLs, TestFlight review and App Store Connect preparation.
Reflection
Three decisions changed the quality of the product.
Narrowing the promise created more value than adding another feature or platform.
An adaptive system earns trust by explaining consequences and waiting for consent.
Recipe belongs in the product only when it responds to the workout actually completed.
Designer / Contact
Altankhuu JORGUTYN
Product & UX/UI Designer · Open to thoughtful product and interaction design opportunities.
honaler@gmail.com