500+
Certified trainers on the platform.
Case study, Fitlov
A trust-first fitness marketplace for the UAE.
Fitlov connects users with certified personal trainers and wellness professionals on demand across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, personal training, yoga, boxing, swimming, nutrition and massage. I led the design of the entire product from scratch: UX strategy, UI, the design system and booking flows.
01 · Overview
The problem worth solving
The UAE fitness market is fiercely competitive, yet users kept hitting the same wall: difficulty finding credible trainers, no pricing transparency, fragmented booking, and low trust in online fitness platforms. Fitlov set out to fix this with a centralised, trusted marketplace built around a premium, mobile-first experience.
"Good product design is not about adding screens, it's about reducing friction between intent and action."
02 · Research & discovery
Understanding the market and the user
I analysed booking apps, wellness services and Uber-style on-demand models. One pattern ran through all of them: too much information, murky trainer credibility, and needlessly complex booking. Those insights shaped a simplified, trust-driven approach built on three principles.
01
Trust-first
Clear credentials, structured profiles and ratings make credibility obvious at a glance.
02
Low cognitive load
Minimal steps, simplified decisions, every screen has to earn its place.
03
Mobile-first
Built for fast, thumb-first browsing and booking on the go.
03 · Information architecture
One product, two journeys
Fitlov is a two-sided marketplace, so the architecture had to serve members and trainers in parallel, each journey kept shallow, with the shortest possible path from intent to action. The time-poor professional wants expert, flexible coaching without the gym commute; the independent coach wants flexible income and a steady stream of the right clients.
04 · Design process
From blank canvas to live product
01
Information architecture
Structured around discover → profile → book → manage, the shortest path from discovery to booking.
02
A design system from scratch
Type scale, colour, spacing, buttons, inputs, cards, navigation and states, so the product could scale into new categories.
03
Trainer discovery & profiles
Structured browsing with filters; profiles engineered for trust, certifications, reviews, ratings and clear pricing.
04
Booking & multi-category
Minimal steps and clear confirmation, architected to scale into yoga, boxing, swimming, nutrition and massage.
05 · Design system
A system, not a set of screens
Before the first screen, I built the foundation, colour, type, spacing and a component library. Every screen in this case study is assembled from it, which is what let the product scale across categories without losing consistency.
06 · The product, screen by screen
A calm, photography-led interface
OnboardingValue proposition · member & trainer paths.
The landingLocation header, free-session banner and services.
Trainer profileCredibility, skills and pricing at a glance.
CheckoutClear package summary, total upfront.
Booking confirmedInstant reassurance with next actions.
My FitlovOne hub for sessions and progress.
07 · The other side of the marketplace
Built for trainers, too
Fitlov only works if trainers do. The product was two-sided from day one, a complete toolkit for running a training business from a phone.
Become a trainerThe pitch, earnings, benefits, one clear CTA.
Set your pricingA tactile slider for rates and packages.
Trainer dashboardEarnings, requests and schedule, unified.
08 · Impact
A live product with real traction
30K+
Training sessions delivered.
4.6 ★
App Store rating · UAE.
$500K
Seed funding raised, backed by Flat6Labs and in5.
3
Emirates, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah.
6
Wellness categories in one app.
Figures sourced from public reporting (MAGNiTT, Wamda, App Store), internal data available on request.
09 · Learnings
What this project taught me
Trust is the core product in a service marketplace. With no physical product, the design itself carries credibility, structured profiles, clear credentials and a consistent visual language are the product, not nice-to-haves.
A design system is a business asset. Building the component library from scratch meant every new category or screen could be assembled consistently and fast.
Complexity is absorbed by the designer, not the user. Many categories, trainer types and booking states, the user should never feel any of it.
Want to see the full product?
Full UI screens, the design system and process artefacts are available in a live walkthrough.