Pala
Meet Pala - a meditation app for iOS and Android. If you're member of the companion online service, you can download meditation sessions to your phone to get some zen on the go.
The goal was to create an easy to understand, visually pleasing interface mainly for people who've had already been using the online service. Making it the best way to access all your meditations on the go.
The easy-to-use aspect was achieved by studying and applying best practices — layouts and flows people are already familiar with —, keeping the navigation simple, and the in-app communication straight to the point. The most important functions of the application got in the front-row, while the power user features took the back seat.
Getting Started
Getting started is easy as pie: simply log into your account, or create a new one in a few easy steps, and you're ready to do some free meditation sessions, or access the premium ones you've already bought.
The Meditations
I've tried to keep the hierarchy as flat as possible, and use screen real-estate wisely. I've reduced the number of screens the app had — by merging relevant functions —, and you can reach most of them easily from the main menu. Easy-peasy!
Playback
After selecting the mediation, you can pick which track you want to play. But here's the twist: beside the music, the tracks come with an extra article that help you get in the mood and achieve that maximum zen. You're also able to record your thoughts and reflect in a handy journal.
Feedback
Okay, okay: due to some NDA reasons, I had to kind of anonymise this case study. The app is real, but the design and branding is tweaked a bit to disconnect it from the production version.
But I got to tell you, the reception in the App Store and Google Play Store was pretty great! As far as I know, the released version of this app got more than 100,000 downloads in a year. The online service itself has millions a visitors, with tens of thousands of concurrent users. Strong going, if you ask me.
This project was done with Stylers.