Waking Up Mobile App

Discovery research, problem-solving, ideation, information architecture, solutions matrix, wireframing user flow

The Challenge

In the pursuit of an examined life, the greatest waste is an insight that fails to integrate. Users of the Waking Up app were caught in this very loop. They engaged with the practice of meditation—the "how"—and were exposed to its profound theory—the "what." Yet, a crucial disconnect remained, leading to a subtle but corrosive form of cognitive waste.

Our research uncovered a stark rejection of conventional engagement metrics. A full 70% of users reported that setting practice goals did nothing to increase their motivation. Furthermore, 50% cited the simple session timer as their least-used feature. This data made the problem clear: the app was speaking a language of quantification to an audience seeking qualification. Without a clear bridge between the daily act of sitting and its long-term impact, motivation waned, and the potential for true self-transformation was squandered.

The Mission

Our mission was to eliminate the ambiguity that hindered long-term practice. The data showed that at a subscription cost nearly twice that of its competitors, Waking Up was positioned as a premium tool, yet its structure wasn't fully supporting the premium transformation users sought. The goal was to re-architect the app's information flow to make the "why" of meditation as accessible as the "how," creating a system that justifies its value by fostering genuine, self-sustaining growth.

The Process: A Metamorphosis of Meaning

To solve this, we had to move beyond surface-level UX and deconstruct the user's entire relationship with the practice.

Our discovery process, including 1-on-1 interviews, confirmed that users craved qualitative improvements in their lives, not digital trophies. While competitor apps attracted younger demographics with delightful interfaces, the opportunity for Waking Up was to go deeper, leveraging its high-quality, diverse content from renowned teachers.

The Core Friction: The data illuminated the user's true priorities. A significant 80% of users kept the ambient sound feature active during every session, viewing it as essential to their experience. This insight, paired with the rejection of goal-setting, pointed to a desire for immersive, qualitative experiences over quantified achievements. The core friction was clear: users understood the theory and followed the practice, but the vital third piece—integration into daily life—was left for them to solve alone.

“Truly learning to meditate is not like going to the gym and putting on some muscle because it’s good for you and makes you feel better. There’s more to it than that. Meditation—again, done correctly—puts into question more or less everything you tend to do in your search for happiness. But if you lose sight of this, it can become just another strategy for seeking happiness—a more refined version of the problem you already have.” –Sam Harris, Taming the Mind

The Solution: "Life" – A System for Integration

The solution was not to add extraneous features, but to introduce a new, foundational pillar to the app's architecture: a section called "Life." This new screen acts as the connective tissue that was missing, a space designed to explicitly bridge the gap between theory, practice, and real-world application.

This system for integration is supported by targeted UI enhancements justified by our research:

• A Redesigned Player for an Immersive Experience: To honor the 80% of users who depend on background sounds, we redesigned the player UI to include direct control over ambient sound options, volume mixing, and a sleep timer—small acts of sovereignty that cater to the user's actual habits.
• Purposeful Progress, Not Gamification: Instead of meaningless streaks, which 70% of users found unmotivating, we introduced simple progress bars for courses. This leverages the goal-gradient effect, providing clear, visual feedback on completion without commodifying the practice.
• A Centralized "Life" Section: This new pillar directly addresses the core problem by framing the "why." It repurposes existing content to show how meditation applies to relationships, focus, and well-being, connecting the practice to higher-level needs of esteem and self-actualization, as defined by Maslow's Hierarchy.

By restructuring the app's flow around Theory, Practice, and "Life," we created an intuitive system that guides users from intellectual understanding to embodied wisdom. It finally makes the implicit promise of meditation an explicit, navigable, and indispensable part of the user experience.

Evaluation Hueristic

Information Architecture

[Blue] = Existing Screens[Red] = New Screens

Mobile User Flow