After becoming a wellness industry staple, yoga is taught without cultural respect, nuance, and the gravity of tradition. The practice has become diluted in many regions of the world.

THE BRIEF

In June 2023, I met Su Unn to learn her student's expectations before jumping into design.

During a chat in Starbucks, I learnt that Su Unn has been wanting to create a personal website for 10+ years to get more students and establish her long-term vision of starting her own yoga studio. To ensure timely completion, I focused purely on user research, brand identity, and UX design. The development and official launch of the website will be done by me after the end of Designlab. Student expectations included their priorities, pain points in their journey of: signing up for yoga classes, seeking a yoga instructor, and, consistently attending classes over a period of time. In my research plan, I detailed methodologies used as follows: 1) competitor research, 2) surveys, 3) user interviews

Some constraints to keep in mind.

Users may not accurately remember how they felt when signing up as some of the students joined years before. Due to the demographic of participants (mostly working females with families), sufficiently long interviews are debatable. Hence users may not provide the most detailed or actionable feedback, making it difficult to identify specific areas for improvement.

Assumptions

1. Most Iyengar yoga students will be working, older women in the 40s to 50s
2. They might be cynical of the predominant yoga philosophy (ie. “too hippy”)

Objective

To research, design, test, and iterate a responsive portfolio for an Iyengar yoga teacher to generate new leads and increase student engagement.

THE GAP

During competitor analysis, I realised the competition's attempts to make tangible that which cannot be perceived has a damaging potential.

While keeping the outcome of research interviews in mind, I analysed the 4 most popular yoga studios in Singapore. I found that almost all of them had a pastel, minimalist interface on their platforms, seeking to convey the sense of peace and mindfulness a student might achieve. Hence, I decided to subvert this aspect.

Besides surveys, I conducted 4 user interviews with existing Iyengar yoga students.

While keeping the outcome of research interviews in mind, I analysed the 4 most popular yoga studios in Singapore. I found that almost all of them had a pastel, minimalist interface on their platforms, seeking to convey the sense of peace and mindfulness a student might achieve. Hence, I decided to subvert this aspect.

THE CURVEBALL

Because yes, the website addressed user needs. But did it have soul?

With 5 participants of the target demographic (ie. current or incoming yoga students), I conducted an in-person prototype testing using Figma. Although all users successfully completed the assigned tasks without errors or misclicks, they all shared the common sentiment of the site feeing "emotionally empty".

Ouch. But no time to weep, back to Figma.

RE-BRANDING

I revised the moodboard to include greater illustrations and textures.

The moodboard predominantly follows a monochrome colour palette with dashes of vibrant colour such as reds and oranges. There is a focus on the human form and its movements balancing a sense of fluidity and stillness. I also prioritised hand-drawn illustrations to add a personal touch.

VERSION 2.0

One day later, a vibier interface.

The moodboard predominantly follows a monochrome colour palette with dashes of vibrant colour such as reds and oranges. There is a focus on the human form and its movements balancing a sense of fluidity and stillness. I also prioritised hand-drawn illustrations to add a personal touch.

WHY THIS?

Most students are not at the first stage of the yoga journey. They're just looking for the final push.

As they come from word of mouth referrals, what better way to give the final push than to show them visually what their journey in Iyengar yoga could be like under Su Unn’s guidance.

AN AGEIST ASSUMPTION I SELF-CORRECTED

Just because the target demographic may be older and busy, it does not mean they can’t or don’t want to appreciate experiences

As they come from word of mouth referrals, what better way to give the final push than to show them visually what their journey in Iyengar yoga could be like under Su Unn’s guidance. An ageist assumption I had to correct in my head was that “Just because the target demographic may be older and busy, it does not mean they can’t or don’t want to appreciate experiences.”