What is PHYTER?
What is PHYTER?
PHYTER is a gamified mobile app that turns workouts into quests. It was created as my final year project at the University of York to address rising levels of inactivity by transforming physical movement into an epic, rewarding experience.
PHYTER is a gamified mobile app that turns workouts into quests. It was created as my final year project at the University of York to address rising levels of inactivity by transforming physical movement into an epic, rewarding experience.
• Role: UX Designer (Research, Testing, UI)
• Timeline: Oct 2024 – May 2025
• Tools: Figma, Miro, Qualtrics, Adobe Express, KREA AI
• Role: UX Designer (Research, Testing, UI)
• Timeline: Oct 2024 – May 2025
• Tools: Figma, Miro, Qualtrics, Adobe Express, KREA AI
The Challenge
The Challenge
How can we help people stay active when exercise often feels boring, isolating, or unrewarding?
PHYTER was designed to reduce high dropout rates in fitness apps by reimagining workouts as fantasy quests — supporting users with motivational barriers, varied accessibility needs, and limited time.
How can we help people stay active when exercise often feels boring, isolating, or unrewarding?
PHYTER was designed to reduce high dropout rates in fitness apps by reimagining workouts as fantasy quests — supporting users with motivational barriers, varied accessibility needs, and limited time.
PHYTER
PHYTER
UX Design - Gamification - Mobile App - Solo Project
UX Design - Gamification - Mobile App -
Solo Project
Goal:
Design a gamified mobile app that motivates casual users with narrative and visual feedback.
(Thematic Map)
(Thematic Map)
What I discovered
What I discovered
From a 91-person survey and thematic analysis:
Many users (28.7%) exercised only once per week or less. Motivation and time were key blockers.
71.5% wanted a fantasy narrative to make workouts feel purposeful.
Gamification alone wasn’t enough — users needed personalised progress feedback and social accountability to stay engaged.
Thematic insights:
Progress tracking, social motivation, and reward-based narratives consistently stood out as engagement drivers.
Research
Testing Insight That Changed Everything
Users felt overwhelmed during onboarding and confused by early screens. A tester said:
“Get a little wizard man popping up… like on every screen… telling you what’s what.”
Result: I designed a narrative-aligned onboarding assistant: a wizard character who appears on first use to guide users step-by-step. This reduced friction and increased delight.
Initial User Survey & Thematic Analysis
91 complete participants.
3 key themes were extracted: Social support, progress motivation, and gamification.
Personas & User Journey Maps
3 distinct user types.
Mapped flows for a beginner, casual, and advanced user to guide inclusive design decisions.
Lo-fi to Mid-fi Testing
Built and tested early prototypes. Ran online user focus groups using Mid-fi prototypes to gather usability feedback
Iteration & Final Design
Applied all 16 actionable improvements into a polished high-fidelity Figma Prototype.
My Process
Outcomes
Reflections
Tested the prototype with 7 users across 4 remote user focus groups
Applied 16 actionable insights to improve clarity, flow, and engagement
Successfully executed an end-to-end UX process - from user research and analysis to prototyping and final UI design
Designs were 100% user-informed - driven by insights from 91 thematically analysed survey responses
Learned to manage complex design files in Figma, improving workflow through naming systems, variables, and layout grids.
Discovered the power of Thematic Analysis to translate user feedback into meaningful product decisions.
Understood the limitations of remote focus groups and plan to include hands-on testing in future work.
Gained clarity on the importance of balancing motivation with ethical design.
Other Projects
Customer Service Revamp
Conducted a UX audit and redesigned Primark’s Help Centre experience.
Testing Insight That Changed Everything
Users felt overwhelmed during onboarding and confused by early screens. A tester said:
“Get a little wizard man popping up… like on every screen… telling you what’s what.”
Result: I designed a narrative-aligned onboarding assistant: a wizard character who appears on first use to guide users step-by-step. This reduced friction and increased delight.
Initial User Survey & Thematic Analysis
91 complete participants.
3 key themes were extracted: Social support, progress motivation, and gamification.
Personas & User Journey Maps
3 distinct user types.
Mapped flows for a beginner, casual, and advanced user to guide inclusive design decisions.
Lo-fi to Mid-fi Testing
Built and tested early prototypes. Ran online user focus groups using Mid-fi prototypes to gather usability feedback
Iteration & Final Design
Applied all 16 actionable improvements into a polished high-fidelity Figma Prototype.
My Process
Other Projects
Outcomes
Tested the prototype with 7 users across 4 remote user focus groups
Applied 16 actionable insights to improve clarity, flow, and engagement
Successfully executed an end-to-end UX process - from user research and analysis to prototyping and final UI design
Designs were 100% user-informed - driven by insights from 91 thematically analysed survey responses
Reflections
Learned to manage complex design files in Figma, improving workflow through naming systems, variables, and layout grids.
Discovered the power of Thematic Analysis to translate user feedback into meaningful product decisions.
Understood the limitations of remote focus groups and plan to include hands-on testing in future work.
Gained clarity on the importance of balancing motivation with ethical design.
Colleague Discount App
Led the UX design for Primark's global discount app
Customer Service Revamp
Conducted a UX audit and redesigned Primark’s Help Centre experience.