GAMIFIED MOBILE UX/UI DESIGN
Gamifying Wellness for Students in College Campuses
OVERVIEW
In India, many students move out at 18, leaving behind homes where parents took care of their meals and health was rarely something they had to think about. This gamified approach brings a fun, competitive twist to fitness, helping young people take charge of their own well-being and build habits that actually stick.
DOMAIN & CONTEXT
Social Fitness
SECONDARY RESEARCH
Some excerpts from Research Papers about Student Health:
USER BEHAVIOUR
Fitness
High awareness of healthy habits, low implementation due to environmental constraints
PROBLEM AREAS
Sedentary hostel lifestyle with irregular eating and sleeping patterns
Lack of motivation for individual fitness pursuits
USER NEEDS
Convenient & Beginner-Friendly Fitness
Quick (15–30 min), equipment-free workouts that can be done in hostel rooms or with friends, using bodyweight or simple substitutes (stairs, bottles), with progressive difficulty.
TARGET AUDIENCE
Primary: College hostel residents (18-24 years) in Tier 1 & Tier 2 cities
Secondary: Day scholars and local college students (18-24 years)
Tertiary: College faculty, parents, college sports coordinators affected by student health.
Social
Competitive event-driven participation, prefers group activities. Want to look good for peers but afraid of judgment while trying to improve
Limited access to structured fitness programs
Poor accountability systems for health goals
Time & Social Integration
Short sessions between classes, warm-ups, and group/partner routines to make fitness engaging and easy to sustain.
ABOUT THE MARKET
5.9 Million College Students in India
Source: Financial Times (2022)
49% Female Enrollment, 51% Male Enrollment
Source: Ministry of Education (2020)
Extreme Mobile Phone Usage in this Group
Digital
Social validation seeking, group-driven discovery, binge usage patterns, late-night peak activity
Social isolation despite living in close quarters
Healthy Nutrition Choices
Optimizing hostel mess food, practicing portion control, and avoiding stress-eating with affordable, healthier snacks (₹20–50).
PRIMARY RESEARCH
Survey Insights
Insights from Interviews and Observing College Students’ Health Behavior
Fitness Related
"I only go to the gym when my friend goes, otherwise I just skip it" - reveals dependency on peer motivation rather than self-discipline.
Peak Season: semester start, post-festival guilt phases, free courses/modules.
Low: semester exams/jury, placement season, project deadlines
Time and resource constraint due to set gym timings and overcrowding during those hours.
Nutrition Related
Mess/Cafeteria food selection based on taste, not nutrition. Fresh fruits/vegetables not preferred.
Outside food ordered collectively, individual healthy choices get overridden by group decisions
Technology Integration Gaps
Fitness apps downloaded but abandoned within 2-3 weeks due to lack of social features and consistency.
Health tracking inconsistent - students forget to log meals/workouts without reminders