01LOWER THE
LOWER THE
BARRIER TO START
Short, simple workouts that
feel easy to begin
Miko
- Contribution
- Product Strategy · End-to-End Product Design · Brand Direction · Design System
- Collaboration
- Partnered with product and engineering to refine Miko’s core experience and visual direction through implementation reviews, design QA, and launch.
Miko
— A lightweight movement app for people who want to exercise but often find starting difficult. Rather than pushing users toward intense workouts, rigid plans, or streak-based discipline, Miko lowers the barrier to movement through short personalized sessions, a playful cat companion, and rewarding progress feedback.
First launched in mainland China on August 15, 2026, Miko reframes exercise from “I need to stay disciplined” to “I can move a little today,” creating a gentler and more approachable way to build an everyday movement habit.
Selected product screens
The hardest part of exercise
isn't knowing what to do,
— It's getting started.
“How might we help people who want to exercise begin withless pressure—and feel motivated to return?”
Product Strategy
02REMOVE
REMOVE
UNNECESSARY
DECISIONS
A daily plan tailored to
each user's needs
03MAKE EVERY
MAKE EVERY
EFFORT COUNT
Turn even a few minutes
into visible progress
Core Experience
“Making Movement Easier to Start—and Worth Coming Back To”
Three experience decisions that shape how users start, move, and see progress with Miko.
01Making it easier to get started
Before the workout
Conversational Onboarding
Challenge
Starting often requires too many decisions—what to train, how long, and where to begin.
A conversation, not a form.
Miko turns setup into a short conversation, then brings one clear plan for today to the home screen.
02Making workouts easy to follow
During the workout
Guided workout
Challenge
Once users start, too much instruction or pressure can make even a short workout feel demanding.
Design response
Miko keeps each session simple to follow, with clear pacing, lightweight guidance, and supportive cues from the companion.
Workout Companion Character
AI was used to explore and generate the character’s visual style. The final design keeps movement guidance clear and accurate while making each workout feel friendlier and less intimidating.
03Making small efforts feel worth it
After the workout
Achievement
Challenge
For beginners, a few minutes of movement can feel too small to count, while fitness metrics often feel abstract.
Design response
Miko pairs each completed workout with visible feedback, familiar comparisons, and collectible progress—so even a few minutes feel meaningful.
Brand System
A visual language that feels like a companion
Miko uses black-and-white hand-drawn illustrations, soft blue accents, and lighthearted copy to distinguish itself from fitness products built around intensity, competition, and numerical performance.
一种如伙伴般亲切的视觉语言
Miko 采用黑白手绘插画、柔和的蓝色点缀和轻松俏皮的文案，使其区别于那些强调强度、竞争和数值表现的健身产品。
Validation & Iteration
Since launch, user feedback has helped us see more clearly where Miko still needs work.
Next, we’re prioritizing more flexible and varied daily workout plans, while rethinking reminders and motivation so they fit more naturally into users’ routines. We’ll look at first-workout completion, daily-plan completion, 7-day retention, and qualitative feedback to understand whether these changes actually make it easier to get started, and easier to keep going.
Once the core experience is further validated, we plan to expand to Android and international markets, bringing Miko to more users.
Reflection
Miko was the first product I designed end to end. As one of two product designers on the team, I worked on it from early concept through V1 launch. On our small team, my role spanned product strategy, feature definition, interaction and visual design, and post-launch iteration. Working with different partners taught me how to balance experience goals with technical constraints and shipping timelines. I also built an AI-assisted motion workflow to explore and deliver ideas faster.
After launch, a user in recovery told us she enjoyed using Miko for gentle exercise. Her message stayed with me. It made the impact of even our smallest decisions feel real, whether it was a prompt, a transition, or a moment of encouragement.
Next version is still a work in progress. But Miko taught me what it takes to turn an idea into something people can use, ship it with a team, and keep making it better.