Fitbit Inspire No.1

Summary

In 2018, I became the principal designer for the forthcoming Fitbit Inspire I. Fitbit aimed to create a slender fitness tracker with a limited swipe screen, a 4-bit grey scale screen, and a robust health sensor suite. I would be responsible for designing both the operating system, all software applications, the visual design system, and UI animations. And I worked with a junior designer to focus on a single core application and an animator who supported some of the more advanced animations.

Goals

Research showed users wanted a slim tracker that could monitor heart rate, comfortably track sleep, in addition to basics like steps and calories. Users also wanted a way to get a glimpse of their text messages before checking their phone. From the business side, Fitbit was feeling market pressure to produce a product to replace its aging Alta line of products.

Process

I began by reviewing existing UXR and customer support data from previous products. From this research, I developed a series of design principles for all tracker products, such as using a limited UI to empower the tiny screen of the device to be the interface. Next, I focused on foundational elements of the OS: interaction models and navigational systems. All of my ideas were prototyped and iterated on extensively for weeks, including a great deal of hallway testing. From there, I designed a model for application interactions. And finally, I designed a visual system to pull it all together.

Collaboration

With entirely new hardware, there was no prior documentation on what was technically possible. Instead, I worked directly with the lead engineer, showing him prototypes of different ideas and discussing the engineering possibilities and challenges. Eventually, the best ideas became formal specifications. I worked directly with multiple types of Engineers, from low-level drivers to frontend development, to ensure design and human factors quality. Throughout the year-long project, I contributed to weekly cross-functional meetings to align progress and assess how changes from other teams might affect design.

Research

One of the greatest challenges in this project came from the proposed reflective metallic coating on the plastic shield that covers the display. The display only produces 150 nits of light, which makes it a challenge to see in bright daylight. I partnered with UXR to develop three formal tests evaluating how the metallic coatings impacted screen visibility. I presented these findings to product leadership, which resulted in a call to adjust the industrial design to make it easier for users to see.

Results

Fitbit Inspire I was the number one selling health tracker in the US the year of its release. It also won design awards from IDEA and Good Design for visual and interaction design excellence. After launch, I handed off the whole OS platform to a team overseas, who continued to extend it and release four more products running it.