Audible Fit Mode Feature
A new feature concept designed to help an overlooked segment of Audible subscribers achieve their health and wellness goals without disrupting the immersive audiobook experience.
ROLE
UX Designer and Researcher
Copywriter
Content Strategist
SCOPE
Design and test a new feature within an existing app
TOOLS
Figma
Zoom (user interviews and testing)
Audible :)
PROCESS
User interviews
Comparative analysis
Feature prioritization
User and task flows
Wireframes
UI design with brand alignment
Usability testing & iteration
Background
Let’s set the scene
Audible is the #1 app for listening to audiobooks with a huge collection of bestsellers, plus podcasts and original exclusives for monthly subscribers to choose from. But I saw an opportunity to design more intentionally for a growing audience segment: the fitness user.
A significant percentage of Audible subscribers listen while exercising, whether going for a walk around the neighborhood or putting in reps at the gym, but the app does not have any features specifically designed for these fitness-minded subscribers.
Research
To design a feature that truly adds value to an already valuable app, I needed to get in step with a specific group: audiobook listeners who bring their stories along for their workouts.
I set out to understand not just what they do, but why. What makes them reach for a book over a playlist? What motivates them? How do they juggle fitness tracking apps and audiobook player apps? And where do their current apps (including Audible) fall short?
My goal was to uncover insights that would help me design a more intuitive, motivating, and tailored experience for fitness-minded users that is still enjoyable.
What’s the word?
Research Objectives
Learn how users interact with audiobook apps while working out
Understand why users choose audiobooks over music during exercise
Identify what users value most in fitness-focused apps
Discover why users choose one audiobook app over another
Explore any personal workarounds (like using Car Mode) users have developed
Understand the reasons users feel the need to leave the Audible app mid-workout
Process
Competitive analysis of fitness and audiobook apps
User Interviews
User Survey
Affinity Map
Empathy Map
Reading the room
To better understand where Audible’s experience could evolve for fitness-focused listeners, I explored both direct and indirect competitors: Libby, Apple Fitness, Audiobooks.com, Google Fit, and Strava.
Rather than simply adding audiobooks to a fitness app, my goal was to bring familiar, fitness monitoring functionality into the audiobook space. So, I looked at both audiobook player features and fitness tracking tools. This helped me identify what these platforms do well, where user needs overlap, and what gaps exist that Audible could uniquely fill.
User Interviews
Research Goal:
Learn what fitness-minded audiobook listeners value most when choosing a workout companion app in order to identify what is missing from the current Audible experience and why users would need to leave the Audible app while listening.
Method & Participants:
30-minute Zoom & in-person interviews
5 fitness-minded audiobook listeners who subscribe to Audible or a similar app
“ I can think about this story rather than thinking about the fact that I’m running. It’s something else to focus on and take your mind off of the pain.”
Summary of Results:
What I found confirmed one of my biggest hunches: Audible users don’t want to fiddle with the app during a workout. They want to press play and go, letting the story power their run, ride, or reps. Audiobooks act as a form of mental escape, a welcome distraction that makes physical movement feel more enjoyable and sustainable.
So, how do you design a new app feature for users who want minimal interaction with an app? That was my challenge.
Affinity Map used to identify patterns and gather insights from my user interview observations.
-
Users love hitting play and putting the phone away.
-
Listeners are driven by how they feel after a workout, not just by numbers.
-
Users value individual milestones over daily streaks or high performance.
-
Time, distance, and consistency were the most valued stats, especially when viewed post-workout.
-
The story helps users stay mentally engaged during physical effort, but requires a level of cognitive focus that can’t be constantly interrupted.
-
Most users rely on wireless headphones and voice controls to stay hands-free.
-
App interactions during a workout are usually reactive (e.g., pausing due to distraction), not proactive.
-
A minimized or simplified workout UI isn’t automatically better. It has to feel like Audible, too.
-
Long-term consistency and overall well-being outrank real-time fitness data for most users.
The insights I gathered
These insights made it clear: any fitness-focused feature had to enhance the listening experience not distract from it. My challenge moving forward was to design something subtle, supportive, and aligned with users’ real workout motivations.
Empathizing with users
To better understand my primary user, I used an Empathy Map to further synthesize my findings. They crave content that matches their goals or mood, feel friction when trying to find the right audiobook for a workout, and get frustrated by having to toggle between multiple apps to track progress or stay focused.
My core persona was starting to take shape as was my core problem to solve.
Define
Finding my Focus
After digging into research, it was time to make sense of it all. This phase was all about translating what I learned into something more actionable.
PROCESS
Project Goals
User Persona
Defining Problem Statement
Project Goals
Before diving into ideation, I aligned assumed business needs with user motivations. Here’s what shaped the direction of the feature that would become Audible Fit Mode:
Based on my research and the insights I gathered, I could create a clear picture of who I was designing for. Penny would keep me “honest” throughout the design process and ensure I was making decisions that aligned with my users’ goals.
Meet Penny, the Fitness-Minded Audible Persona
Penny
The Well-Balanced Book Worm
Penny is a busy Product Owner who works from home but makes sure to get outside as much as possible. She would never describe herself as an “athlete” despite having completed a triathlon and exercising regularly. She doesn’t obsess over tracking every metric but she does want to know when her pace is improving or she’s been slacking. Whether doing laundry or running, she’s always listening to a new book or podcast. Her favorite genres are Fantasy, Romance, Historical Non-Fiction, and Autobiographies.
“I like to take my mind off things, and get lost in a book instead.”
Needs & Goals
Entertaining, immersive, and accessible content that helps her reach her unique goals
Maintain a good baseline of mental and physical health so she can continue enjoying her favorite activities
A personalized way to track her progress and see her commitment to her health paying off
Frustrations & Pain Points
Getting distracted easily and losing focus on her book or her motivation to keep going in her workout
Juggling multiple apps during an otherwise laid-back, no-fuss workout
App community features that only promote competition between users
Features or metrics that don’t reflect her personal goals or what truly drives her wellness journey
TBR List
With a clearer picture of who I was designing for and why they needed a better experience, I could start thinking about what I was actually going to make. My problem statement became a guidepost, helping me stay focused on creating the right solution for fitness-minded audiobook listeners like Penny.
The Problem
Fitness-minded Audible users value a seamless listening experience but have to rely on other apps to track their workouts, breaking focus and adding friction. There’s an opportunity to support their wellness goals with purpose-built fitness features.
Ideate
Where strategy gets weird
After defining my user persona and goals, I shifted into creative mode envisioning how my new feature could integrate seamlessly into the Audible experience while adding real value.
This is my happy place. Drawing from my creative strategy background I sketched, mapped, and refined potential paths forward, focusing on ideas that didn’t just work—and work well within the existing Audible—but also sparked motivation for users like Penny.
PROCESS
Brainstorming & sketching
User & Task Flows
Feature Roadmap
Low-fidelity wireframes
Designing within well-established IA and design system like Audible’s meant a lot of sketching, head scratching, and page flipping.
I looked closely at current in-app features like badge collection, listening time counters, exclusive content, and Car Mode. These elements gave me both a realistic foundation to build on and a familiar UI language for Audible users to navigate with ease.
I mapped out user and task flows to visualize how a fitness-minded Audible listener would move through key interactions in my new feature. These included things like setting up Fit Mode, completing a workout, editing a workout log, joining a challenge, and viewing challenge history.
Creating these flows helped me uncover where friction might occur and identify the touchpoints that needed to feel effortless. It also highlighted opportunities to minimize cognitive load, especially important for users who are mid-workout and relying on a good book to stay in the zone.
Going with the flow
These flows laid the foundation for my feature roadmap, helping me prioritize functionality that supports a seamless and engaging experience. They also became a helpful reference during later design stages, ensuring that what I built aligned with how users naturally think and behave. And speaking of a feature roadmap…
Here’s how I prioritized some initial feature and functionality ideas based on my defined problem, user needs, tech feasibility, and overall impact on the Audible experience.
Feature Roadmap
Must Have
-
Uses built-in phone sensors (GPS, accelerometer) to track activity. Research showed users want a simple, “set it and forget it” option that supports focus and immersion. Note: This would become the core focus of my project, I just didn’t know it yet.
-
Optional, literary-inspired fitness goals (e.g., Walk to Mordor) that users can opt into and track. Research revealed that fitness-minded listeners are self-motivated and value long-term progress over competition. This feature adds ongoing engagement and gives users a reason to return to Audible beyond just the audiobooks.
-
A progress page/section where users can review fitness metrics alongside listening history. While Penny (my persona) isn’t driven by detailed stats, she still values easy access to long-term progress. This low-friction feature supports that need and could expand to include sorting or filtering as the feature evolves.
Nice to Have
-
Optional, audio updates during Fitness Mode (like distance covered, time remaining, or chapters completed) to help users stay informed without interrrupting their flow. Research shows that fitness-minded listeners value staying focused and immersed, so these subtle cues offer motivation without distraction.
-
A punch card–style reward system that grants users a free audiobook credit after completing a set number of challenges. Since audiobooks are a key motivator for fitness-minded users, this feature reinforces healthy habits while giving users another reason to stick with Audible.
-
After exiting Fitness Mode, users see a summary of tracked metrics, challenge progress, and can rate how the workout felt. This feature supports research findings that fitness-minded listeners value emotional check-ins as much as performance stats and that a sense of progress boosts post-workout satisfaction.
Can Come Later
-
A quick prompt when starting “Fitness Mode” that invites users to set an intention or check in with themselves. While users prefer a minimal, low-touch experience, research shows that meaningful data points like personal intentions can support motivation and highlight long-term progress without added distraction.
-
A curated section within Audible’s existing Collections featuring audiobooks ideal for workouts. Research revealed that users often depend on trusted recommendations, so this collection helps them easily find motivating, fitness-friendly content without extra effort.
Low-Fidelity Wireframes
I then created low-fidelity wireframes to explore layout, hierarchy, and functionality, testing early concepts to see which interactions felt intuitive, motivating, and at home within Audible’s interface.
Player Settings - Users toggle on Fit Mode to enable it, then they can choose what information they want tracked and displayed in the player.
Main player display before Fit Mode is active
Fit Mode Display - Within the Fit Mode display users can view fitness metrics like distance, time, pace, and heart rate (if connected to a monitor) alongside player controls. Or opt to stick with the classic player layout.
Pause Screen/Progress - When users pause in Fit Mode they are given the option to Resume or End. The metrics slider expands into individual cards like a mid-workout progress report.
Workout Wrap Up Form - If users choose to End their listening session, they are prompted to review and add additional details to their workout before submitting it.
Fit Mode History/ Achievements - Once submitted, each submitted Fit Mode session can be found in the Fit Mode Achievements section in the user’s Audible Profile.
Challenges - Users can toggle between open, active and completed challenges. Short descriptions tell users the parameters of each challenge and allow them to easily join.
Active Challenges - The active tab will show users their progress in the challenges they have joined
Completed Challenges - The completed tab will be more minimal and focus on celebrating achievements, with the option to click and see details in an overlay.
Design
Making it feel like Audible, just a little sweatier
The goal was to stay true to Audible’s clean, professional aesthetic while injecting functionality that supported movement and motivation.
I looked at how Audible handles categories, player controls, and personalization to make sure Fit Mode felt native not bolted on.
PROCESS AT A GLANCE
High-fidelity mockups
Iconography design
Existing brand audit & alignment
Audible’s design system and brand guidelines aren’t readily available for public use, so I went through an extensive app and website audit, tracking down color swatches, icons, and typeface usage in order to reproduce all of the brand elements accurately and make my design process as efficient as possible.
Audible Original
My Reproduction
High-Fidelity Mockups
Test &
Iterate
Putting Fit Mode through its paces
To find out if Fit Mode actually helps audiobook-loving exercisers stay motivated and on track without disrupting their flow I put my hi-fidelity prototype to the test with five participants representing “Penny”, my persona.
To make it as realistic as possible, three of my participants were observed using the prototype while walking on a treadmill. This gave me valuable insight into how Fit Mode functioned during actual movement, not just in theory.
Though I couldn’t simulate real-time audio in the prototype, I used user feedback to note this as a priority for future testing.
Treadmill usability testing. I might be biased but I had the best testers.
What I tested:
Enable Fit Mode with preferences
Start Fit Mode session
Check metrics mid-workout
Log Fit Mode session to see progress
What I measured:
Task completion rate – Were users able to complete tasks without help?
Time on task – How long did it take to complete each task?
Error rate – Where did users stumble or misunderstand the flow?
Self-reported ease of use – How easy did tasks feel on a scale of 1–5?
“Glanceability” of Metrics - Could users quickly gather details about their session? Could they recall them?
Feelings of Motivation - How does Fit Mode set them up for success?
“Getting to integrate exercise with something I really, really enjoy, and combining apps instead of having to use two different ones. So much easier.”
Wins
Seamless Mid-Workout Use: All users easily checked metrics during workouts—even those on treadmills—and rated it extremely easy.
High Glanceability: Most users recalled stats without looking at the screen, confirming the visual hierarchy worked well.
Motivation Boost: Fit Mode made participants feel more motivated to work out and keep their routines going.
Challenge Excitement: The idea of Challenges—especially with friend features—was a hit.
UI Praise: Big blocky stat displays were called out as clear, fast to interpret, and treadmill-friendly.
Usability Testing Results
Opportunities
Perceived Effort Confusion: The connection between “How’d it feel?” and the effort rating wasn’t clear.
Heart Rate Expectations: Two users expected heart rate tracking or thought it would be a natural next step.
Route Map Requests: One user suggested a map feature in Foot Notes for outdoor workouts.
Pace Graph Misread: The pace graph was slightly confusing due to inverse relationship (lower pace = faster speed).
Session Ending Confusion: Ending/pause behavior needed clearer microcopy and visual prompts.
Setting Preferences Friction: Selecting tracking metrics wasn’t intuitive for all users.
Next Steps
High Impact / Low Effort
Clarify “How’d it feel?” with supporting copy
Make entire metric row tappable + add helper text (e.g., “Tap to track”)
Add clearer instructions under the "End Session" button
High Impact / High Effort
Add route maps to Foot Notes
Redesign pace graph for clearer interpretation
Expand Challenges with solo goals, friend features, and rewards
Low Impact / Low Effort
Dark Mode
Emoji session notes
Display audiobook progress in logs
Low Impact / High Effort
Heart rate tracking
Tempo-matched playback
Audio bookmarks
Custom metrics by activity
Motivational audio cues mid-session
With my usability test results, project goals, and user personas in hand to ensure I focused on what was most important, I prioritized revisions based on impact and effort choosing to tackle the following High Impact/Low to High Effort revisions first:
Priority Revisions
Start Fit Mode
What Changed:
In order to call greater attention to the pause/stop process, I added the icons to the instructions the user sees before starting Fit Mode.
Player Settings
What Changed:
To help users’ interaction experience I increased the clickable area and adjusted the microcopy slightly to be more actionable.
Footnotes
What Changed:
Since users were not always clear on the connection between the “How did it feel?” input and the Perceived Effort graph on the next page, I added “Rate your effort” as microcopy directly beneath the question.
Perceived Effort Chart
What Changed:
To further help solidify the connection and meaning of “Perceived Effort” for the user, I added the flame icon used in the “How did it feel?” input on the previous page to the graph title.
Challenges
What Changed:
While I didn’t expand the Challenges element of the Fit Mode feature fully initially, I did create a version of the home page that shows what the experience would look like after users enable Fit Mode.
Final Prototype
The End
This project let me flex both my UX and marketing muscles in different ways. I practiced everything from user interviews and journey mapping to usability testing and iterative design all while applying what I know about motivation, storytelling, and emotional connection.
Some Key Takeaways:
Emotional design matters especially in health and wellness
Copy and tone are UX, too!
Strategic creativity is a real strength
Fitness UX needs to be frictionless, but inspiring
I’m excited to keep building experiences that move people—literally and emotionally.
