Valkyrie is a digital solution designed to empower female athletes. It fine-tunes their training schedules by leveraging the natural hormone fluctuations throughout their menstrual cycle.
During my time as an interaction designer at Livsmedicin, a Medical Research Consultancy in Umeå, Sweden, I led the research and conceptualisation of this app. My role encompassed thorough market analysis, conducting primary field research involving interviews with young female athletes and their coaches, and developing a user journey map. This map served as the foundation for delivering a seamless digital platform experience tailored to both athletes and coaches.
An Unmet Need
Our primary target audience often hit pause on workouts when their period arrives, or it disrupts their training routine. Sharing this information with coaches can be challenging due to stigma. Instead, they might choose to report feeling unwell and skip training during their period.
This highlights a clear opportunity for a platform that could be valuable for athletes and coaches, providing cycle tracking and receiving tailored training recommendations suited to their hormone fluctuations.
Based on the research paper provided by Livsmedicin, I mapped out this visual to outline menstrual cycle symptoms correlated to estrogen levels and body temperatures. This visual aids in allocating ideal training approaches such as strength, aerobic, or resistance training throughout the cycle. Other factors including pain tolerance, risk of injury and ligament laxity are also considered.
Drawing insights from primary field research primary field research and analysis of existing digital solutions on the market, key conclusions were drawn to inform the app's information architecture. Collaborating closely with developers at Livsmedicin, feasibility was rigorously tested, engaging in an iterative process until we arrived at a digital prototype.
The design language, look, and feel of this prototype were influenced by primary field research, tapping into the keywords and motivations of female athletes. An empowering aesthetics was aimed for, infused with a trendy, youthful vibe through the use of comic-style illustrations.
