Problem
Tools built for competitive athletes, or generic trackers with no plan behind them.
CASE STUDY / 02
PACER
A running planner designed to help recreational runners stay consistent without the complexity of traditional fitness apps.
A self-directed concept project, designed end to end — one product system that works as a phone app before a run and as a web dashboard after it.
01 / THE CHALLENGE
Too technical to enjoy, too generic to follow.
Most running apps are either too technical or too generic. For recreational runners, that often creates friction instead of consistency.
Goal
Create a product that helps users plan, track, and stay motivated without overwhelming them.
Solution
A mobile-first experience that feels structured, approachable, and consistent across app and web.
02 / THE USER
Lauren Smith
Recreational runner
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco, CA
“I want a simple plan that fits my routine and shows me I’m improving.”
Goals
- Build a consistent running habit
- Follow a clear weekly plan
- Track progress without overwhelm
- Stay motivated over time
Frustrations
- Apps can feel too technical
- Training plans often feel rigid
- Too many metrics create noise
- Progress is not always easy to interpret
About
- Runs 2–4 times per week
- Uses iPhone
- Balances training with work and daily life
- Values clarity and simplicity
Design persona: a composite I wrote to keep decisions consistent across screens. Not a research artifact — the questionnaire shaped the priorities, not this profile.
03 / KEY INSIGHTS
What mattered most was clarity.
I sent a short questionnaire to a running group and built these insights from what came back: runners wanted less noise and more guidance.
Method & limits: self-reported answers from a self-selected group of recreational runners. Directional, not representative — enough to prioritize features, not to size a market.
Clarity drives consistency
Users needed to know what to do today without navigating through multiple layers.
Progress builds motivation
Simple summaries and visible milestones made improvement feel tangible.
Simplicity beats overload
Dense metrics and feature-heavy dashboards made tools feel intimidating.
Context matters
Users wanted training and routes that fit real routines, not ideal schedules.
How might we…
- help runners stay consistent without overwhelming them?
- make progress feel visible and motivating?
- combine planning, tracking, and route discovery in one clear system?
04 / INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
A structure built around daily action.
Five key areas support the runner’s journey from planning to progress.
Home
Today’s workout, weekly overview, recent activity
Plan
Choose plan, weekly schedule, workout details
Progress
Monthly activity, goals, achievements, last run
Maps
Explore routes, compare, save or start
Profile
Stats, preferences, goals and recent activity
05 / CORE FLOW
From choosing a plan to starting a run.
Primary flow
Home→
Plan→
Choose plan→
Plan details→
Weekly schedule→
Start workout
The flow always answers the runner’s first question — what do I run today? — before adding anything deeper.
06 / WIREFRAMES & ITERATION
Reducing noise, improving focus.
I drew every screen in low fidelity first to see whether it had a job. The ones that couldn’t answer a single clear question in the sketch never got built in high fidelity.
What changed
- Simplified Home around Today’s workout
- Made the Plan flow more mobile-native
- Reduced complexity in Progress by focusing on goals
- Made Profile more activity-driven
- Adapted the web experience without just compressing mobile
Why
To reduce friction, improve scannability, and make every screen answer one clear user question — what do I do next?
Before — low-fidelity
→
After — high-fidelity
07 / FINAL SOLUTION
A running product centered on structure, motivation, and ease of use.
The final concept balances planning, progress and exploration in one cohesive experience across mobile and web — calm, motivating, and easy to follow at a glance.
Plan with clarity
Compare options quickly and understand what fits your goal and level.
Track meaningful progress
Goals, achievements and recent performance are surfaced simply.
Explore visually
Maps and route previews support discovery without overwhelming the flow.
Stay consistent
The experience prioritizes habit-building over advanced athletic complexity.
08 / KEY DECISIONS & TRADE-OFFS
Four trade-offs I chose on purpose.
Each of these took something a runner might want, to protect the one thing they need every day.
Lead with today’s workout
Home answers what do I run today? before anything else — plan, stats and history come after.
Trade-off — the full calendar and run history sit one tap deeper.
Fewer metrics by default
Each screen surfaces a handful of meaningful signals; deeper data stays available on demand.
Trade-off — experienced runners have to dig for splits and pace detail.
One system, two layouts
Web and mobile share one component system, but each layout was designed for its own context — not compressed.
Trade-off — slower to design and maintain than scaling a single layout.
Plans you commit to, not browse
Choosing a plan is a short guided decision, not an open library — the product always proposes a next step.
Trade-off — less up-front flexibility in exchange for a clear path.
09 / REFLECTION
What restraint taught me.
Every improvement in this project came from removing something rather than adding it — harder to defend than it sounds.
Simplicity wins
Reducing noise and clarifying hierarchy had more impact than adding more features.
Progress needs emotion
Data should motivate and reassure, not overwhelm or intimidate.
Mobile deserves its own logic
The strongest mobile screens came from rethinking structure, not translating desktop.
Consistency builds trust
A clear visual and structural system made the experience feel more credible and scalable.
If this shipped, I’d measure
- plan adoption during the first week
- weekly active running days per user
- plan completion rate after four weeks
10 / CONTACT