iOS App
Skill Unlock — iOS App
Company
Personal
Timeframe
2026
Role
Product Design
A self-directed iOS project built end to end — from user research and personas through to a working prototype. The product is a calisthenics trainer with an unlock-based progression for hard skills like Planche, Front Lever, and Handstand.
Concept
An app focused on training high-difficulty calisthenics skills, designed around gamification — complete the challenge, unlock the achievement.
User Personas
Two target users anchor the product. Aarav, 16, a student in India who found calisthenics through Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts — limited budget, low-end phone, no idea where to start. Marcus, 26, a US freelancer with prior training experience — wants harder skills like muscle-ups and handstand push-ups, but his schedule is irregular and he keeps progressing in the wrong order, risking injury. Together they frame the brief: the app has to be light, beginner-safe, and flexible enough for unpredictable lives.
Problem Statements
Two concrete needs drop out of the personas. Aarav needs an app that stays light on low-end hardware and surfaces no-equipment exercises by default, because he can't afford a gym setup or a new phone. Marcus needs a routine that bends to his physical state and to whichever hours his freelance week leaves him, not a fixed weekly plan.
IF / THEN Hypotheses
Based on the problems, three hypotheses: • Users need a lightweight app. • Training schedule must be flexible. • Exercises must fit each user's physical condition.
Market Research
Most current fitness apps focus on basic exercises aimed at weight loss or general health. No existing app goes deep on training high-difficulty, specialized calisthenics moves that require dedicated exercises. Where these apps do well: real-person video demonstrations for every movement, and streak-tracking features that record consecutive training days to keep users coming back.
Solution
• Sprite sheets to keep app size small. • Rep counts are adjustable on every exercise to fit each person's condition. • Exercises split into two groups: supporting exercises and skill-specific exercises. Skill-specific exercises are divided into stages of increasing difficulty, each with a clear requirement. Users can move to the next stage themselves when they feel ready. • Each skill lists its prerequisite requirements so users can self-assess their readiness.
User Flow
One loop, with a fork. Open app → Home → choose what to train. If the user already has a skill selected, jump straight into the skill detail screen. Otherwise route through the skill list first. From skill detail → Start training → Training screen → Finish screen, then back to Home. The fork is the important part: returning users skip the picker entirely and get to training in one tap.
Information Architecture
Mapping every screen and how they connect — three top-level destinations (Homepage, Level screen, Setting screen) branching into the supporting flows: current plan, streak, news on home; skill and exercise details leading into the training-rest-finish loop on level; process, notifications, rating and bug reporting on settings.
Wireframes
• Two exercise layouts: supporting exercises and stage-divided skill exercises. • Home screen. • Training screen, rest screen, and finished screen.
Prototype & UI
Once the wireframes felt solid the project moved into high-fidelity UI: guided exercise instructions, multi-stage skill breakdowns, user-controlled pacing, tiered difficulty, session-by-session progress tracking, and the unlock loop that ties the whole thing together. Dark and light themes share a single token system so the visual identity stays consistent across every screen.
Summary
The MVP is complete and ready for testing and real use. A few features are already being planned for later releases: more exercise variations, a list of conquered achievements, and user-to-user connection.
