Life Coaching Platform
Delivered an 80% increase in user adoption — by transforming a book tour cancelled by COVID into a full digital platform with gamified progress tracking.
transform an in-person book promotion experience into a digital platform that captures the same community and personal-transformation value — in under 5 months?
COVID eliminated the physical event strategy overnight. The OolaLife brand had built its audience through in-person book tours and community gatherings — none of which could happen. There was no digital strategy, no product, and a countdown clock.
The platform needed to serve two distinct user types: Ambassadors with premium access and management capabilities, and regular users seeking personal-growth accountability. Both needed the system to feel human, not transactional.
Seven Life Areas, One Digital Platform
The founders initially didn't know where to start — they only knew they wanted everything online. Working closely with Dr. Dave Braun and Dr. Troy Amdahl, I defined two interconnected products: a marketing website and a web app with eLearning sections, Ambassador and Coach roles, login, progress tracking, and enrollment built in.
- MVP platform with user enrollment and Ambassador & Coach role hierarchy
- Articles per unit + activities for long-term, monthly, and weekly goal tracking
- Daily Action Steps with built-in accountability and weekly retrospectives
- Dashboard as the main profile page — progress visible at a glance
- 7 Key Areas: Fitness · Finance · Family · Field (career) · Faith · Friends · Fun
Target audience: Women aged 30–60, high tech literacy, interested in personal development, networking, and Young Living. Competitor references studied: bigskyhealth.com, mindvalley.com, zerofasting.com.
Conducted approximately 50 user interviews to define 4 key personas — primarily women aged 30–60 with high tech literacy and strong motivation for personal growth. Research showed accountability mattered more than content quantity.
Designed a gamification system — streaks, rewards, progress tracking, and daily action steps — that replicated the social accountability of in-person events. Collaborated directly with clients in live Miro + Figma sessions to compress decision cycles and meet the 5-month deadline.
From Whiteboard to Wireframe
The primary user journey started at the marketing website and ended at the application. MindValley served as the indirect benchmark — the founders admired its content depth and future-forward positioning, which shaped early explorations of structure and interaction.
- 4 personas co-created directly with Dr. Braun and Dr. Amdahl through collaborative sessions
- Extensive whiteboarding using customer-centric and Design Thinking methodologies
- UX flow maps, wireframing, Information Architecture definition, sitemap, and MVP task scoping
- Mobile-first approach with breakpoints defined early in process
- Oola had organic growth across multiple domains — consolidation opportunity identified for SEO and brand coherence
- SEO strategy and Google Analytics fixes scoped alongside design work
- Accessibility audit and code-level fixes identified and documented
- When the marketing firm joined, aligned digital style guides with their team and Frontend devs
- Handed off to another designer for final delivery; stayed available to close gaps
Five Months — Crisis to 80% Adoption
Momentum arc across the 5-month project. Each point marks a real milestone — from COVID crisis to the key insight that unlocked the product (accountability > content) to MVP launch. Hover each point for context.
The gamification system was a deliberate bet. Research showed the audience valued accountability above content quantity — they didn't need more to read, they needed a reason to show up tomorrow. The streak mechanic was the product insight, not the feature.
Building for an audience that doesn't know they need digital is a different UX challenge than building for tech-native users. You're not just solving a problem — you're teaching the language. The onboarding flow was more important than any individual feature.
