Putting the personal back into personal fitness with Nike AI
We integrated conversational intelligence into Nike Training Club to empower athletes of varying skill levels to achieve their fitness goals at home.
As a UX and Visual Designer, I centered on user stories to define improved product features. Owning campaign messaging and script, I unified user-centered design with Nike’s iconic brand and voice.
Role
Skills
Team
Duration
UX Designer
UX Writer
Visual Designer
UX Writer
Visual Designer
Conversation Design
Campaign Strategy
UI Design
Motion Graphics
Campaign Strategy
UI Design
Motion Graphics
Sammie Kim
Francis Park
Charmaine Qiu
Francis Park
Charmaine Qiu
7 weeks
PROBLEM + RESEARCH
Hot take🔥: Personal fitness resources are not so personal
Riding the YouTube workout video wave during the pandemic, a couple of sweaty designers stumbled upon a problem: an ambiguity and assumption that people know how to make exercise work for them (supposedly a highly personal physical endeavor).
Not everyone can afford a personal trainer, so we sought out to improve existing resources to make interface-aided fitness more inclusive, living-room friendly, and human.
Not everyone can afford a personal trainer, so we sought out to improve existing resources to make interface-aided fitness more inclusive, living-room friendly, and human.
We chose Nike Training Club (ranked #1 fitness app in the app store) as a foundation to improve personalization in personal fitness. After conducting competitor analyses, UX audits, and skimming app store reviews, it became clear that professional-quality content and a diverse range of fitness tutorials are not enough.
︎ Users found it hard to choose and adjust resources to match their needs, goals, and lifestyle.
︎ Users found it hard to choose and adjust resources to match their needs, goals, and lifestyle.
SOLUTION OVERVIEW
Supporting the growing athlete with conversation, skill differentiation, and interactive guidance
We employ Nike intelligence to infuse biometrics data, user-inputted goals, personal calendars, and day-to-day *vibes* into a fitness experience that actually fits the user. 🤯
My greatest contribution was negotiating this fit, starting with a rock-solid conceptual framework:
My greatest contribution was negotiating this fit, starting with a rock-solid conceptual framework:
Today, Tomorrow substantiates an attitude of growth in NTC’s new user experience and campaign design. We strive to inspire athletes to view themselves and Nike AI as partners in sustained, progressive athleticism.
Guidance-heavy “today”
Speaking to beginner athletes, Nike Training Club’s large collection of trainer-led videos help beginners perform workouts accurately.
︎ Nike AI transcends the rigid video format, infusing personalized tips in-workout so users can improve workout form. Users can converse directly with video content, such as saving “favorites”, building literacy and activity preferences.
.. followed by flexible-free “tomorrow”
Speaking to experienced athletes, Nike Training Club offers a modular “whiteboard workout” mode that enables flexible pacing.
︎ Nike AI grants athletes maximum control over their workout playlists, assisting users to choose the right playlist for the day, switch out individual workouts, and get non-intrusive form checks with refresher tutorials.
︎ Nike AI grants athletes maximum control over their workout playlists, assisting users to choose the right playlist for the day, switch out individual workouts, and get non-intrusive form checks with refresher tutorials.
How did we come up with Nike AI?
Continuing case study in 3️⃣, 2️⃣, 1️⃣ ...
USERS
Hey Nike, define “athlete.”
Nike’s mission statement ends with “If you have a body, you are an athlete,” but fails to mention all bodies are different.
Through storyboarding and iterative scripting, we prototyped a variety of athlete scenarios: multi-player workouts, disability accomodations, body types, even integrations with music apps.
︎ We found the most clarity empathizing with the beginner athlete and the experienced athlete. Paradoxically, tighter user personas helped us further Nike’s mission to “bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.”
Through storyboarding and iterative scripting, we prototyped a variety of athlete scenarios: multi-player workouts, disability accomodations, body types, even integrations with music apps.
︎ We found the most clarity empathizing with the beginner athlete and the experienced athlete. Paradoxically, tighter user personas helped us further Nike’s mission to “bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.”
MESSAGING
Nike tells a great story.
Reflecting on our brand study (aka Nike advertisement watch party), we tossed the standard demo format and leaned into authenticity, focus, and a singular human story. We’re not just showing off the design, but campaigning for better athleticism in and of itself.
Our video follows Kate, who wants to get fit from the comfort of her home. Nike AI’s personalized recommendations and guidance empowers her to advance from focusing on form today to owning her workout tomorrow. Full script here︎︎︎
Nike intelligence responds to Kate’s needs at every step of the way
CUI DESIGN
Nike moves with you.
We created Nike AI’s look to reflect an exciting breadth of motion states that is familiar to fitness. Intelligence enhances and integrates seamlessly into NTC’s existing design system, whether it is activated during workout videos or on app interfaces.
Using a 2x2 matrix to design distinct states that fill gaps in conversation
COMMUNICATION DESIGN
Finishing with Nike flair
We married an inspirational story and clear demonstration of features with a concept video and an evolved take on the NTC brand. We kept graphics straightforward with a touch of edge, as to forefront Kate’s activity, conversation, and symbiosis with Nike Training Club.
Mobile UI Focus
Features Navigation
Film roll effects
Edgy type motion
Leading concept communication with punchy one-liners familiar to Nike’s voice
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Post-workout reflection
Evolving a Nike product came with a lot of challenges centered around the common theme of striking a balance. Through seemingly endless filming, Figma pages, and script iterations, I’m proud that our team was able to innovate, visualize, and present a suite of novel product features with no cross-functional and strategic guidance!
Team Nike ✔︎
Some great learning moments:
There’s a lot to improve in what already exists. We were surprised to uncover the depth and sensitive nuances in quality UX when we allowed ourselves to work within NTC’s ecosystem. In future projects I’m more inclined to see the good in existing features and how we can innovate in sustainable, responsible ways.
With big brands come big responsibility. Reimagining the swoosh ✔ for a beloved brand was hard. We had lots of inspo to draw from, but had to tread a careful balance of brand cohesion and evolution.
Make ugly videos sooner and more often. We made endless script iterations, but even final_final_final.pdf evolved when spliced against our soundtrack, CUI voice, and videography. In the future, I’d approach ambiguity more scrappily to reduce uncertainties in the final take.
There’s a lot to improve in what already exists. We were surprised to uncover the depth and sensitive nuances in quality UX when we allowed ourselves to work within NTC’s ecosystem. In future projects I’m more inclined to see the good in existing features and how we can innovate in sustainable, responsible ways.
With big brands come big responsibility. Reimagining the swoosh ✔ for a beloved brand was hard. We had lots of inspo to draw from, but had to tread a careful balance of brand cohesion and evolution.
Make ugly videos sooner and more often. We made endless script iterations, but even final_final_final.pdf evolved when spliced against our soundtrack, CUI voice, and videography. In the future, I’d approach ambiguity more scrappily to reduce uncertainties in the final take.
If given more time, I would:
Consult AI experts. We designed this speculative UX in 2022, with baseline understanding of AI’s capabilities. I’d be curious to ground this in current advancements, constraints, and consideration of product market fit with increased AI saturation.
Build a V1 and test with users. With the time we had, we filmed a lot of test videos and rewrote the script to optimize flow. Given the chance, I would develop a functional V1 to consider real, imperfect interactions between users and AI.
Align with Nike’s product offerings and strategy. “Would Nike even do this?” was a common question that guided our process, and we made many assumptions to progress the design. I’m curious how our design would change with more informed consideration of other Nike products, business needs and priorities, and alignment with future visioning.
Consult AI experts. We designed this speculative UX in 2022, with baseline understanding of AI’s capabilities. I’d be curious to ground this in current advancements, constraints, and consideration of product market fit with increased AI saturation.
Build a V1 and test with users. With the time we had, we filmed a lot of test videos and rewrote the script to optimize flow. Given the chance, I would develop a functional V1 to consider real, imperfect interactions between users and AI.
Align with Nike’s product offerings and strategy. “Would Nike even do this?” was a common question that guided our process, and we made many assumptions to progress the design. I’m curious how our design would change with more informed consideration of other Nike products, business needs and priorities, and alignment with future visioning.