Optimal Humans, optimal experience
Optimal Humans is a boutique fitness studio based in Manly, NSW, that offers personalised training programs with an emphasis on educating clients to optimise their health and performance.
Optimal Humans, optimal experience
Optimal Humans is a boutique fitness studio based in Manly, NSW, that offers personalised training programs with an emphasis on educating clients to optimise their health and performance.
Optimal Humans, optimal experience
Optimal Humans is a boutique fitness studio based in Manly, NSW, that offers personalised training programs with an emphasis on educating clients to optimise their health and performance.
Optimal Humans, optimal experience
Optimal Humans is a boutique fitness studio based in Manly, NSW, that offers personalised training programs with an emphasis on educating clients to optimise their health and performance.
Summary
Optimal Humans wanted a mobile solution to extend their personalised training approach beyond the studio, enabling them to reach and support more clients.
The goal was to design and build an iOS app that would translate complex, customised workout plans into an intuitive digital experience. The app needed to support users through detailed fitness assessments and video-guided workouts while maintaining the studio's commitment to education and empowerment.
My role
While at Hidden Innovation, I spent six months collaborating with a cross-functional team of engineers, visual designers, and fitness professionals to bring the app to life. As the designer responsible for the lifestyle assessment and fitness test library, I led user research to understand how clients engaged with Optimal Humans' training programs.
My role
While at Hidden Innovation, I spent six months collaborating with a cross-functional team of engineers, visual designers, and fitness professionals to bring the app to life. As the designer responsible for the lifestyle assessment and fitness test library, I led user research to understand how clients engaged with Optimal Humans' training programs.
My role
While at Hidden Innovation, I spent six months collaborating with a cross-functional team of engineers, visual designers, and fitness professionals to bring the app to life. As the designer responsible for the lifestyle assessment and fitness test library, I led user research to understand how clients engaged with Optimal Humans' training programs.
My role
While at Hidden Innovation, I spent six months collaborating with a cross-functional team of engineers, visual designers, and fitness professionals to bring the app to life. As the designer responsible for the lifestyle assessment and fitness test library, I led user research to understand how clients engaged with Optimal Humans' training programs.
Results
We created an app that transformed overwhelming, text-heavy assessments into a streamlined experience that let Optimal Humans' clients focus on what mattered: their form and performance.
Results
We created an app that transformed overwhelming, text-heavy assessments into a streamlined experience that let Optimal Humans' clients focus on what mattered: their form and performance.
Results
We created an app that transformed overwhelming, text-heavy assessments into a streamlined experience that let Optimal Humans' clients focus on what mattered: their form and performance.
Results
We created an app that transformed overwhelming, text-heavy assessments into a streamlined experience that let Optimal Humans' clients focus on what mattered: their form and performance.
Multitasking meets information overload
During interviews with the studio owner, I uncovered a critical pain point: some clients, especially those who weren’t professional athletes, felt overwhelmed when completing assessments without a trainer. While many of Optimal Humans’ clients were high-performing athletes, the owner also wanted the assessments to support everyday people looking to improve their fitness.
These assessments involved multiple steps that sometimes required multitasking (in particular, timing exercises while following detailed instructions). With a trainer present, this was fine. Without one, clients had to juggle their phone's timer app and written instructions while trying to complete the assessment. No wonder they felt overwhelmed.
To make matters worse, the studio’s documentation was long, text-heavy, and designed for trainers. Not something that translated well to mobile, or to those still building confidence in their gym workouts.
Multitasking meets information overload
During interviews with the studio owner, I uncovered a critical pain point: some clients, especially those who weren’t professional athletes, felt overwhelmed when completing assessments without a trainer. While many of Optimal Humans’ clients were high-performing athletes, the owner also wanted the assessments to support everyday people looking to improve their fitness.
These assessments involved multiple steps that sometimes required multitasking (in particular, timing exercises while following detailed instructions). With a trainer present, this was fine. Without one, clients had to juggle their phone's timer app and written instructions while trying to complete the assessment. No wonder they felt overwhelmed.
To make matters worse, the studio’s documentation was long, text-heavy, and designed for trainers. Not something that translated well to mobile, or to those still building confidence in their gym workouts.
Multitasking meets information overload
During interviews with the studio owner, I uncovered a critical pain point: some clients, especially those who weren’t professional athletes, felt overwhelmed when completing assessments without a trainer. While many of Optimal Humans’ clients were high-performing athletes, the owner also wanted the assessments to support everyday people looking to improve their fitness.
These assessments involved multiple steps that sometimes required multitasking (in particular, timing exercises while following detailed instructions). With a trainer present, this was fine. Without one, clients had to juggle their phone's timer app and written instructions while trying to complete the assessment. No wonder they felt overwhelmed.
To make matters worse, the studio’s documentation was long, text-heavy, and designed for trainers. Not something that translated well to mobile, or to those still building confidence in their gym workouts.
Multitasking meets information overload
During interviews with the studio owner, I uncovered a critical pain point: some clients, especially those who weren’t professional athletes, felt overwhelmed when completing assessments without a trainer. While many of Optimal Humans’ clients were high-performing athletes, the owner also wanted the assessments to support everyday people looking to improve their fitness.
These assessments involved multiple steps that sometimes required multitasking (in particular, timing exercises while following detailed instructions). With a trainer present, this was fine. Without one, clients had to juggle their phone's timer app and written instructions while trying to complete the assessment. No wonder they felt overwhelmed.
To make matters worse, the studio’s documentation was long, text-heavy, and designed for trainers. Not something that translated well to mobile, or to those still building confidence in their gym workouts.
Making assessments effortless
I addressed these challenges by integrating an in-app timer so users could track exercises without switching screens or losing focus.
We also worked with the owner to restructure their assessment documentation into step-by-step instructions that their clients could follow it at a glance. To facilitate this, I worked with our engineers to design a lightweight CRM with structured form fields that let the fitness team enter structured, mobile-friendly content instead of pasting in walls of text.
Making assessments effortless
I addressed these challenges by integrating an in-app timer so users could track exercises without switching screens or losing focus.
We also worked with the owner to restructure their assessment documentation into step-by-step instructions that their clients could follow it at a glance. To facilitate this, I worked with our engineers to design a lightweight CRM with structured form fields that let the fitness team enter structured, mobile-friendly content instead of pasting in walls of text.
Making assessments effortless
I addressed these challenges by integrating an in-app timer so users could track exercises without switching screens or losing focus.
We also worked with the owner to restructure their assessment documentation into step-by-step instructions that their clients could follow it at a glance. To facilitate this, I worked with our engineers to design a lightweight CRM with structured form fields that let the fitness team enter structured, mobile-friendly content instead of pasting in walls of text.
Making assessments effortless
I addressed these challenges by integrating an in-app timer so users could track exercises without switching screens or losing focus.
We also worked with the owner to restructure their assessment documentation into step-by-step instructions that their clients could follow it at a glance. To facilitate this, I worked with our engineers to design a lightweight CRM with structured form fields that let the fitness team enter structured, mobile-friendly content instead of pasting in walls of text.
Through usability testing and close collaboration with the engineering team, we refined the interface to feel seamless and intuitive, even for longer, more complex assessments.
Through usability testing and close collaboration with the engineering team, we refined the interface to feel seamless and intuitive, even for longer, more complex assessments.
Through usability testing and close collaboration with the engineering team, we refined the interface to feel seamless and intuitive, even for longer, more complex assessments.
Through usability testing and close collaboration with the engineering team, we refined the interface to feel seamless and intuitive, even for longer, more complex assessments.
A clear path forward
The final design delivered a clear, confidence-building experience that made Optimal Humans' fitness assessments more accessible to their everyday clients, whether they were training independently at the gym or at home.
They could complete assessments with reduced cognitive load, focusing on their form and performance rather than deciphering text-heavy instructions. The intuitive structure empowered them to take ownership of their fitness journey, both in and out of the studio.
A clear path forward
The final design delivered a clear, confidence-building experience that made Optimal Humans' fitness assessments more accessible to their everyday clients, whether they were training independently at the gym or at home.
They could complete assessments with reduced cognitive load, focusing on their form and performance rather than deciphering text-heavy instructions. The intuitive structure empowered them to take ownership of their fitness journey, both in and out of the studio.
A clear path forward
The final design delivered a clear, confidence-building experience that made Optimal Humans' fitness assessments more accessible to their everyday clients, whether they were training independently at the gym or at home.
They could complete assessments with reduced cognitive load, focusing on their form and performance rather than deciphering text-heavy instructions. The intuitive structure empowered them to take ownership of their fitness journey, both in and out of the studio.
A clear path forward
The final design delivered a clear, confidence-building experience that made Optimal Humans' fitness assessments more accessible to their everyday clients, whether they were training independently at the gym or at home.
They could complete assessments with reduced cognitive load, focusing on their form and performance rather than deciphering text-heavy instructions. The intuitive structure empowered them to take ownership of their fitness journey, both in and out of the studio.
Reflections
This project taught me a lot about balancing user empathy with business realities. Simplifying the assessments made them easier for clients to complete, but it also meant rethinking how the studio created and managed their programs behind the scenes. Collaborating closely with engineers and fitness professionals showed me how even small structural changes can make a big difference, for both the user experience and the team maintaining it.
It’s a mindset I’ve carried forward as a product designer. Now I'm always looking for ways to make complex systems feel simple and human. Or Optimal, even.