case study 01
Reimagining the Mindbody App
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Disclaimer:
This case study is for educational purposes only and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Mindbody. All insights are based on publicly available sources.
✦ Disclaimer: This case study is for educational purposes only and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Mindbody. All insights are based on publicly available sources.
project overview
Outlining the problem, project goals, design process, and solution strategy.
Problem STATEMENT
Despite its position as a market leader in the wellness industry, the Mindbody app suffers from an outdated interface and cumbersome user flows that make it difficult for users to easily book and manage wellness activities. The app lacks the intuitive, polished experience that users now expect from top-tier wellness brands. This misalignment between functionality and brand perception not only diminishes user satisfaction but also threatens the app's ability to maintain its competitive edge in a rapidly evolving market.
Project Goal
This project aims to streamline the user experience of the Mindbody app by improving usability, modernizing the interface, and aligning the product with industry best practices. Through in-depth user research, competitor analysis, and iterative design, the objective is to create a more intuitive, engaging, and efficient platform—one that enhances the overall wellness journey and encourages continued user engagement.
DESIGN PROCESS
My 6+ week design process utilized tools like Zoom, Figma, and Photoshop. I started with 2+ weeks of user reviews and interviews to gather insights and define personas and problem statements. In the next 4 weeks, I brainstormed, created mood boards, and developed prototypes in Figma. I validated my designs through user feedback, ensuring a user-centered, functional, and aesthetically pleasing final product.
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Figma
Google Forms
Zoom
Photoshop
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UX Research
UX Design
UI Design
Prototyping
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Overall: 6+ weeks
Discovery & Research: 2+ weeks
Design & testing: 4 weeks
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User Feedback and Pain Points: Identified major usability issues such as complex navigation and outdated design through user reviews.
Persona Development: Created personas to align the redesign with user needs and preferences.
Visual Redesign: Modernized the app’s visual elements to enhance aesthetic appeal and functionality.
Simplified Navigation: Streamlined the booking process to improve user experience.
Engagement Features: Incorporated interactive and gamification elements to increase user engagement and retention.
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RESEARCH
Analyzing competitors, developing detailed personas, and reviewing user feedback to guide improvements.
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DEFINE
Mapping the user journey, identifying key pain points, and uncovering opportunities for improvement
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IDEATE
Developing core interaction–based solutions and wireframes to address user pain points and explore design opportunities
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PROTOTYPE
Creating high-fidelity mockups to visualize and refine the proposed solutions.
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EVALUATE
Conducting a heuristic evaluation to identify usability issues; Gathering user reviews to gain key insights.
SOLUTIONS
Users of the Mindbody app express significant frustration with its complexity and usability, finding it overly complicated and time-consuming, which serves as a barrier between them and their fitness studios. They report difficulties accessing schedules and integrating them with personal calendars, and criticize the app's search functionality as unintuitive and ineffective, particularly when searching for classes associated with specific gyms. Booking classes often presents challenges due to problems accessing updated schedules and pricing information.
Research
Gathering insights through competitor analysis, user feedback, and persona development.
COMPETITOR Audit
To uncover opportunities for improvement and align with industry best practices, I conducted a competitor audit of four wellness platforms: Classpass, Alo Moves, and Glo. Each offers distinct strengths in class booking, personalization, and user engagement—making them strong benchmarks for evaluating the Mindbody app’s current experience. Using a UX-focused lens, I assessed each platform through a feature comparison matrix, examining usability, personalization, content quality, and engagement strategies. This analysis revealed experience gaps in Mindbody and highlighted actionable opportunities for thoughtful, user-centered design enhancements.
This audit combined hands-on exploration with secondary research to evaluate the overall user experience of the Mindbody app. Key areas of analysis included booking flows and app structure, feature availability and ease of access, as well as personalization strategies and content relevance. Additionally, the assessment focused on UI clarity, visual design, and engagement features to understand how users interact with the platform. App store reviews and user sentiment were also examined to capture real-world pain points and validate findings through user feedback.
audit summary
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MINDBODY is designed for service-based businesses and focuses heavily on administrative tools. While the app offers solid booking and reminder functions, its UX feels dated in places, with a steeper learning curve for new users. It’s functionally rich but less engaging from a design and personalization standpoint.
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ClassPass delivers a seamless and intuitive user experience with a credit-based booking system that makes discovering and scheduling classes easy. It stands out for its strong filtering tools and modern visual design, offering a motivating and flexible experience for users in major cities.
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Alo Moves blends minimalism and calmness with a highly polished wellness experience. The app emphasizes personalized content, progress tracking, and elegant design. It’s especially strong in yoga and mindfulness, though premium pricing may deter casual users.
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Glo offers an inclusive and intuitive wellness experience with tailored onboarding and clear navigation. It supports a wide range of fitness levels and class types, and stands out for its curated programs, playlist creation, and supportive tone. The interface is clean, and the content feels genuinely user-centric.
opportunities
Compared to its competitors, MINDBODY shows clear gaps in personalization, visual engagement, and ease of use. While it offers strong backend tools, it lacks the smooth onboarding and tailored content found in apps like Glo or Alo Moves. The navigation feels more rigid and less intuitive, and its engagement features—such as reminders or rebooking nudges—are inconsistently implemented. There’s also room to improve the emotional tone of the interface, which currently feels more transactional than motivating. Enhancing user-centric features, streamlining discovery, and modernizing the UI could better align MINDBODY with today’s wellness app expectations.
Users of the Mindbody app expressed frustration with its complexity and poor usability. They reported challenges in accessing schedules, integrating them with personal calendars, and finding classes through the search function—especially at specific gyms. Booking was complicated due to inconsistent schedules and pricing, while tracking workouts was limited to the current month. Many users also experienced disappearing passes and inadequate customer support, underscoring the need for substantial improvements in usability and functionality.
USER REVIEWS
During the research phase of this case study, I leveraged App Store reviews to gather valuable, During the research phase of this case study, I analyzed App Store reviews to gather valuable user feedback. This analysis revealed common pain points, including complex scheduling, search and booking difficulties, issues with tracking, and disappearing passes. These insights highlighted the importance of authenticity, accessibility, and specificity in user experiences, significantly contributing to the effectiveness of the research.
This research phase also involved iterative refinement of the persona as new insights emerged. Key activities included identifying behavioral patterns, understanding pain points, and mapping out user journeys to highlight areas of improvement. This structured approach ensured that the persona remained both relevant and impactful, driving user-centered design decisions across the project lifecycle.
Key persona
To better understand the goals, behaviors, and needs of Mindbody users, I created a persona that reflects a key user segment. This persona was developed through hands-on exploration and secondary research, which included analyzing competitor platforms, reviewing app store feedback, and identifying user motivations, goals, and frustrations. These insights were synthesized into a representative user model that served as a foundation for guiding design decisions throughout the project.
define
Defining the user journey, core interactions, and key pain points to uncover design opportunities.
Users of the Mindbody app expressed frustration with its complexity and poor usability. They reported challenges in accessing schedules, integrating them with personal calendars, and finding classes through the search function—especially at specific gyms. Booking was complicated due to inconsistent schedules and pricing, while tracking workouts was limited to the current month. Many users also experienced disappearing passes and inadequate customer support, underscoring the need for substantial improvements in usability and functionality.
USER journey
During the research phase of this case study, I leveraged App Store reviews to gather valuable, During the research phase of this case study, I analyzed App Store reviews to gather valuable user feedback. This analysis revealed common pain points, including complex scheduling, search and booking difficulties, issues with tracking, and disappearing passes. These insights highlighted the importance of authenticity, accessibility, and specificity in user experiences, significantly contributing to the effectiveness of the research.
Analyzing Core Interactions
To better understand the user experience within the Mindbody app, six core interactions were analyzed—ranging from discovering classes to rebooking after attendance. This interaction-focused approach helped uncover recurring pain points based on real user feedback, including a lack of onboarding guidance, overwhelming search experiences, inconsistent class details, booking errors, and limited post-class engagement features.
Based on these findings, targeted UX opportunities were identified to reduce friction and improve user satisfaction. These include personalized onboarding, enhanced search and filtering tools, standardized class content, more reliable booking flows, and features that support check-in and post-class reflection. The analysis, outlined in the adjacent chart, highlights actionable paths to improve usability, encourage repeat engagement, and create a smoother overall app experience.
IDEAtE
Translating insights into wireframes.
from insights to implementation
To guide the redesign of the Mindbody app, four core interactions were analyzed—from discovering classes to rebooking after attendance. This helped uncover recurring issues like generic content, scattered information, booking confusion, and limited post-class engagement..
The resulting wireframes implement targeted UX improvements: personalized discovery, smarter filters, clearer booking flows, and features like the “Journey” section that support progress tracking and rebooking. These changes reduce friction and promote ongoing user engagement.
Prototype
Bringing Concepts to Life Through Before & After Mockups
Evaluate
Evaluating design effectiveness through user-centric testing.
Basic
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What should we know about the services you provide? Better descriptions result in more sales.
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What should we know about the services you provide? Better descriptions result in more sales.
Intermediate
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What should we know about the services you provide? Better descriptions result in more sales.
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What should we know about the services you provide? Better descriptions result in more sales.
Advanced
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What should we know about the services you provide? Better descriptions result in more sales.
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What should we know about the services you provide? Better descriptions result in more sales.