The POD Pilates App is a mobile app that generates personalised Pilates class plans and programs tailored to the specific goals, equipment, and ability level of the user, significantly reducing the planning time spent by Pilates instructors, and making Pilates more accessible to home users.
Pilates instructors routinely plan workouts for their clients' specific goals, ability level, and available equipment - hence they often spend significant time manually planning classes, which can lead to burnout over time. Additionally, access to Pilates is often constrained due to high cost of classes, hence home users may opt for cheaper, mobile apps or online classes - which currently lack customisation for the user's specific needs.
Planning Pilates classes can be a time-consuming task, with some newly qualified Pilates instructors spending over 1 hour planning each class, requiring constant creation of new sequences with each class taught
Critical fields considered by Pilates instructors when planning classes include: Pilates type, ability level, class duration, target muscle group/s, modifications for client injuries, optional equipment add-ons
Existing Pilates apps feature long-form video content as the primary mode of content delivery, which limits the ability of users to customise workouts to their unique preferences, or further deepen their personal practice and technique
Key app functionality included Smart Class Generator, Personalised Program Generator, Sample Classes, Exercise Directory & Workout Player.
Test Resulttested early sketches with Pilates instructors, feedback included lack of storage/saving capability for generated workouts
Design DecisionAddition of 'Favourites Folder' functionality for quick-saving capability.
Test Resulttested three designs with Founder, feedback included design options with lighter background colours to lessen harsh contrast and ensure on-brand, inclusive, accessible app design
Light colour palette adopted for enhanced accessibility and on-brand design.
Test Resulttested design with Pilates instructors and home users, feedback concluded that 'Pilates Approach' was redundant and caused confusion amongst home users
Design Decision'Pilates Approach' removed from class builder
A mid-fidelity Figma prototype for personalised Pilates class plans and programs, with a Smart Class Generator, exercise library, workout scheduling and favourites.
A mid-fidelity website landing page was also developed using AI design tools (Lovable, Gemini, and ChatGPT), ready for further refinement before launch.