Thrival's original app primarily functioned as an instructional tool, helping customers learn how to use the company's muscle-recovery products. As the company's vision expanded, leadership wanted the app to become more than a simple product instruction application. They wanted Thrival Muscle Recovery to support personalized recovery and fitness recommendations, creator-led workout routines, Thrival product discovery, and future subscription opportunities.

The Original Experience

The initial version of Thrival Muscle Recovery was only organized around discovering and following individual Thrival exercises.

The broader strategy we wanted to implement was to transform Thrival Muscle Recovery to an experience that could support longer-term engagement, personalization, content discovery, and future revenue opportunities.

We wanted the Thrival app to do more than just explain how to use its products

The guided recovery flow became one of the most heavily iterated parts of the app.

The original experience relied on a looping GIF with small thumbnails representing upcoming steps. When I reviewed it, I felt it functioned more like a visual reference than a complete guided routine.

Because these routines involve physical positioning and recovery, I wanted users to have clearer guidance while still being able to move at their own pace.

Key limitations

• Upcoming steps were too small thumbnails to understand
• The main exercise visual had limited screen space
• Users had little control over the looping media
• Recommended hold times were unclear
• The full routine sequence was not easy to inspect

The first few iterations gave users too much information at once

Initial Design

Iteration 1

Iteration 2

Iteration and Refinement

My first redesign added clearer instructions, timing, and easier access to the full routine. Stakeholder feedback pointed out that the exercise video was still too small and the screen felt crowded.

Prioritizing User Needs

I enlarged the exercise video and simplified the screen so users could focus on the current movement/core feature as opposed to extra optional features.

Learning the importance of Design Hierarchy and Information Architecture

Features always visible

• Current step + progress
• Exercise name
• Recommended hold duration
• Previous / Next navigation

Available On Demand

• Timer
• Detailed step instructions
• Full step-by-step routine

This kept the primary screen focused on the routine itself while still giving users access to deeper guidance whenever they needed it.

Key Takeaway

Adding more information did not automatically create a better experience. I stopped showing every piece of information at once and focused on the design hierarchy to organize the experience around what users needed in the moment.

Creating a foundation for creator content

Thrival also wanted to explore a future model where fitness creators could contribute content to the platform and participate in a business relationship with the company.

I established the product foundation needed to represent creators and exploring a social media aspect for the app. This will probably be something implementing within the future of the Thrival app as the stakeholders would need to focus on recruiting and partnering with creators first.

Exploring subscription monetization

Leadership also wanted the app to eventually generate recurring revenue beyond physical product sales.

My Solution

A tiered subscription structure with multiple billing intervals, informed by subscription patterns used across adjacent fitness products.

Redesigning and rebuilding Thrival has taught me how much product design depends on strategy and turning broad business goals into clear, usable experiences. Many of the ideas I received started as simple high-level requests but the real design work came from figuring out how those ideas should connect, what information users actually needed, and how much complexity the interface could support.

Key Takeaways

More isn't always better

My first guided-routine redesign made more information visible, but it also created more competition on the screen. The final direction taught me to prioritize the active task and move secondary information into on-demand views.

Iteration and understanding is crucial

The project reinforced that an early direction does not have to be perfect. Feedback helped me identify where my first ideas were too dense or too close to the original experience and gave me a clearer path forward.

Design doesn't stop in Figma

Working in a continuous review and handoff cycle with developers and stakeholders has shown me how design decisions carry into a live product. I learned to think more about consistency, implementation, and how each feature fits into the larger system.