Actio

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Role: Design Lead

Context: iOS Live Coaching App

Timeline: Fall 2022

Actio, a Berlin-based live coaching app, came to YML to help boost live cast engagement. While their unique call feature boosted class attendance, user engagement dropped after the first few sessions, affecting class discovery and product stickiness. Tasked with redesigning the home feed and user profiles, I focused on increasing session time, class discovery, and social engagement. Initially thinking I was working on a yoga app, I quickly adapted, redefining their strategy, restructuring the IA, and creating a new visual language with innovative interactions to drive user retention.

Outcomes
+400%

live cast minutes

30%

Users attend 3+ sessions per week

+50k

User profiles created

What we inherited

01

Auditing the current experience

The client was by no means tied to their MVP person of the app. In fact, they asked us to “completely break things if necessary.” A quick UI audit of the current experience reveled immediate opportunities for improvement, the most apparent being related to information architecture.

Confusing navigation and buried pages

A paradigm shift towards a live social network would need to emphasize user profiles. Initially, profiles were buried in the menu. Creators were also already creating introduction videos to explain who they are and what they do on the platform; I assumed we could repurpose this content and bring it to the forefront.

Confusing navigation and buried pages

A paradigm shift towards a live social network would need to emphasize user profiles. Initially, profiles were buried in the menu. Creators were also already creating introduction videos to explain who they are and what they do on the platform; I assumed we could repurpose this content and bring it to the forefront.

Confusing navigation and buried pages

A paradigm shift towards a live social network would need to emphasize user profiles. Initially, profiles were buried in the menu. Creators were also already creating introduction videos to explain who they are and what they do on the platform; I assumed we could repurpose this content and bring it to the forefront.

Confusing navigation and buried pages

A paradigm shift towards a live social network would need to emphasize user profiles. Initially, profiles were buried in the menu. Creators were also already creating introduction videos to explain who they are and what they do on the platform; I assumed we could repurpose this content and bring it to the forefront.

Confusing navigation and buried pages

A paradigm shift towards a live social network would need to emphasize user profiles. Initially, profiles were buried in the menu. Creators were also already creating introduction videos to explain who they are and what they do on the platform; I assumed we could repurpose this content and bring it to the forefront.

Confusing navigation and buried pages

A paradigm shift towards a live social network would need to emphasize user profiles. Initially, profiles were buried in the menu. Creators were also already creating introduction videos to explain who they are and what they do on the platform; I assumed we could repurpose this content and bring it to the forefront.

Confusing navigation and buried pages

A paradigm shift towards a live social network would need to emphasize user profiles. Initially, profiles were buried in the menu. Creators were also already creating introduction videos to explain who they are and what they do on the platform; I assumed we could repurpose this content and bring it to the forefront.

Confusing navigation and buried pages

A paradigm shift towards a live social network would need to emphasize user profiles. Initially, profiles were buried in the menu. Creators were also already creating introduction videos to explain who they are and what they do on the platform; I assumed we could repurpose this content and bring it to the forefront.

Alignment sessions

02

Asking the right questions

It became clear early on that we were intentionally being kept siloed form the internal Actio design team because they were seeking an infusion of completely new and divergent thinking. We only had one week to align on the product goals, so I made sure to ask as many questions as I could during this time.

How do users typically learn about Actio?
Which categories attract the most viewers?
Where do you see Actio in 3-5 years?
How can we build a sense of community prior to live sessions?
How far can we push the current design language?
How can we engage users in between sessions?
How do we create a sense of urgency to join a session?
How can we create a sense of connection before a class starts?

Future-proofing

03

I spent some time to make sure the IA could scale and would accommodate features in the roadmap. Even though we were only on the hook for the homepage and profiles, I had to make sure everything made sense in context with the rest of the app.

Nailing the architecture

Three unique visual directions

04

Exploration

Along with another designer, I pitched three visual directions to their CEO and Head of Product. Direction 1 was the safest, but also the most familiar and easy for new users to understand. Direction 3 was more abstract, and broke convention the most. After a few rounds with the client, Ultimately, we landed somewhere in the middle.

01
02
03

The brutalist direction of Direction 2 resonated the most. In a space where social media apps are all beginning to look the same, we felt that this direction helped differentiate the most.

Choosing a direction

Where we landed

05

Immersive discovery

The home features immersive, autoplaying, full-bleed, session preview videos from creators to give an overview of their upcoming classes, with a clear call to action to join. We also wove in stories, to give creators more opportunities to connect with their audiences with a lower time commitment.

Profiles with Purpose

Accounting for multiple profile variations and states, with clear visual treatments to delineate between them. I also designed a future-state creator studio, which was critical as the company moved towards monetization.

Reflections
Know your audience

  • It became clear early on that our work would be used to pitch investors and sell in the vision for Actio 2.0. Because of this, I went a bit crazier with some of the interaction design than I normally would if this were to actually be implemented in a production environment. Sometimes you need to create a shiny toy. Oh, and it worked. Our vision helped them secure new funding and stay afloat during an uncertain financial situation.

Don't play it safe

  • My creative director on this project (who was also my manager at the time) really pushed me to break outside of my comfort zone with the visual design. One valuable lesson I learned is that visual design is more about creating something unique (objective) than creating something that looks good (subjective).

Nothing in isolation

  • The original ask for two screens was misleading, since I knew it would be impossible to deliver them in isolation without considering their interlink and the rest of the experience. Admittedly I got a bit carried away and gave the client far more than they asked, and helped them figure out their product roadmap for future releases.

Happy clients and customers

Since launch, live session engagement continues to increase at an exponential rate as more user profiles are being created daily. In addition to achieving all intended business outcomes, our work has helped the startup secure new funding, has influenced the look and feel of their marketing website and has helped them attract top design talent. It feels great knowing I played a role in this.

“We came in with high expectations and you have exceeded them by far”

Nikita Farenholz

CEO, Actio

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