LunaFlow

Summary

LunaFlow is a wellness app supporting menstruating individuals with personalized exercise routines and wellness tips aligned to their cycle. Built-in under 24 hours at WiCHacks ’24, it won “Best Accessible UI” and “Fan Favorite” for its inclusive, user-centric design featuring AR and AI-driven recommendations.

Timeline

24 hr Hackathon

Responsibilities

User Research, UX Design, prototyping.

Deliverables

Prototype, Presentation

Project Type

Group Project

Here's a short overview video of the project.

Detailed Case Study

Project Focus

Research

Ideation

Design

Achievement

Reflection

Project Focus

🏃‍♀️ Overview

LunaFlow is a wellness-focused fitness app designed to empower individuals to stay active and care for their bodies during all phases of the menstrual cycle.

We initially set out to create a fully accessible workout app for people with disabilities, including posture scanning, sign language video guidance, and personalized exercise plans. However, after early research, we realized that designing and validating an app for all disabilities within a 24-hour hackathon would be impractical and ethically risky without extensive user studies.

Instead, we pivoted to a more focused and impactful idea:

"A menstrual wellness fitness app that combines cycle tracking and adaptive workouts—something we found missing in the market."

This decision was inspired by:

Research shows that exercise reduces menstrual pain
A small survey of other hackathon participants revealed that almost every woman was experiencing cramps and struggled to find an app combining fitness and period care

Functionality

Research

🎯 Research Goals

Understand how users manage workouts during their menstrual cycles.
Identify accessibility barriers and tone-of-voice pain points in existing apps.
Explore opportunities to create a motivating, adaptive experience.
Validate whether AR and AI can help improve safety and confidence during exercise. shows that exercise reduces menstrual pain

🧠 Methods

We studied research papers to confirm that exercising during menstruation can ease pain and improve wellbeing.

Desk Research

We studied research papers to confirm that exercising during menstruation can ease pain and improve wellbeing.

Desk Research

We conducted a quick survey among women at the hackathon: Nearly all participants reported moderate to severe cramps Many wanted to exercise but felt unsupported by generic apps

Survey & Informal Interviews

We conducted a quick survey among women at the hackathon: Nearly all participants reported moderate to severe cramps Many wanted to exercise but felt unsupported by generic apps

Survey & Informal Interviews

We conducted a quick survey among women at the hackathon: Nearly all participants reported moderate to severe cramps Many wanted to exercise but felt unsupported by generic apps

Survey & Informal Interviews

Competitive Audit

We compared leading apps across features and accessibility:

Key Gaps Identified:

No app combined cycle tracking and workouts
Little to no adaptation for pain, fatigue, or hormonal changes
Limited support for hard-of-hearing users (no ASL or audio alternatives)

💡 Key Learnings

Generic plans don’t adapt to menstrual needs, leaving users feeling neglected.

AR posture scanning and AI recommendations could make workouts safer and more accessible.

A supportive community could reduce isolation and motivate users.

Ideation

💫 Concept Exploration

We brainstormed solutions to:

Combine menstrual tracking with personalized fitness.
Integrate AR scanning to ensure the correct form.
Use clear, encouraging language.
Support basic accessibility (captions, simple UI, readable colors).

✍🏻 Wireframes

I roughly sketched flows for:

Cycle-aware onboarding (collecting weight, goals, and menstrual details).
Daily adaptive workouts (energy level and pain-based adjustments).
AR posture scan with live feedback.
Community feed for sharing tips.

(Click the image to zoom)

✍🏻 Design Inspirations

Minimalist card-based layouts.
Soft, calming palettes to reduce stress.
Micro-interactions to create delight.

Onboarding Inspiration

Onboarding

Features Inspiration

Onboarding

AR Body Scan for Posture Inspiration

🎨 Color & Accessibility

We selected WCAG-compliant colors for readability and positivity and Contrasting text for accessibility

#5C1DE6

#DDD8FE

#000000

#F5F5F5

🆎 Typography

We used the Lato typeface for its clean, modern look and excellent readability.
All text sizes were kept above 12pt to maintain WCAG compliance and ensure accessibility.
The hierarchy is consistent, with large headings and clear, legible body text.

Designs

Part 1:

Users can enter their details, including preferred pronouns, fitness goal, fitness level, and workout location.

Part 2:

Users can enter their period dates, and the app provides a personalized workout plan based on their menstrual cycle.

Part 3:

There is a feature in the app that detects the posture of the user doing the exercise, and it corrects the user’s posture.

There is an ASL mode as well, which will give guided video for the users with hearing difficulties.

Part 4:

The app also provides
AI-generated tips for users, offering personalized feedback based on their performance.

Aurora is a virtual assistant designed to help users with tailored workout plans and guidance.

Achievement

🌟 Outcome:

We won Best Accessible UI at the hackathon.

Reflection

🪞Reflection

LunaFlow taught me that inclusivity is not only about accessibility—it’s about truly understanding overlooked needs.

Despite limited time, we delivered the design of:

✅ A working prototype combining fitness and menstrual care

✅ A calming, approachable UI

✅ AR posture scanning for safety

📚 Next Steps

What I’d Improve in the Future:

Conduct deeper research with a diverse group (e.g., people with PCOS, endometriosis).
Refine AR scanning accuracy through testing.
Develop more robust audio and visual accessibility (ASL videos, voice commands).
Expand personalization to include dietary recommendations based on the menstrual cycle.