Designing a Local Advantage: Launching ALT-R Studio's Website in a Growing Reformer Pilates Market

This project focused on designing a launch-ready website that could build trust, set expectations, and support confident decision-making for a new reformer Pilates studio entering a competitive local landscape.

Role

Sole end-to-end UX/UI designer

Company

ALT-R Studio

Time Frame

5 weeks

Stakeholder

CEO / Founder

Explore the prototype

A new studio, a blank slate, and a narrow window to get it right

Ahead of opening its first permanent reformer Pilates studio, ALT-R had been running mat Pilates classes from rented local spaces, with bookings managed via a third-party link or direct Instagram messages.

Interviews with existing and prospective clients revealed that this approach often felt stressful and intrusive, and lacked the context and reassurance needed to understand the studio’s offering, atmosphere, or fit.

With a competing studio rumoured to be opening nearby, ALT-R needed a scalable, user-centred website to support launch, trust, and confident decision-making.

The challenge wasn’t booking, it was helping users understand, choose, and prepare

From a user perspective:

Understand what classes actually involve
Choose the right class level without fear of getting it wrong
Feel reassured about location, and what to expect
Trust the studio — especially if they had injuries or low confidence

From a client perspective:

Gather data to shape pricing structure
Decide how (or whether) to use existing content
Design something realistic to maintain in a site builder
Position ALT-R clearly against local competitors

Competitors set the baseline, but left clear gaps in clarity and reassurance

I reviewed a set of local and regional pilates studios identified by the client as her closest competitors, alongside one international reference studio she admired.

Rather than benchmarking features in isolation, I focused on what mattered at launch: how clearly competitors communicated their offering, pricing, and first-timer expectations, and how easy it was to take the next step.

The landscape was fragmented. Several competitors had no website at all, while others exhibited cluttered layouts, unclear pricing, or vague class descriptions.

Learning what mattered most to users not only helped to define content and structural priorities…

I spoke with seven current and prospective clients to understand how people decide whether to try a new Pilates studio, what creates hesitation at the point of booking, and which information helps them feel prepared. Across conversations, the same needs surfaced repeatedly:

Help choosing the right class (level, intensity, class size)

A sense of the studio vibe (welcoming, inclusive, not cliquey or intimidating)

Expectation-setting for reformer Pilates in particular

Clear, practical logistical guidance (e.g. location, parking, how to enter, what to bring)

Flexible pricing that allows people to try classes without committing to rigid blocks

“It’s helpful to have information about different class types so you don’t accidentally book the wrong one and go into something really hard.”
“I find it [social media booking] stressful because I don’t like pestering people.”
“I like being able to go on and see how many slots are available, click it, pay it, and book it. That’s easiest.”
“I don’t like it when a place is quite cliquey… a welcoming vibe is really important to me.”
“With reformer, I wonder what should I expect to change physically in my body? What’s it actually going to do different to mat pilates? What’s the difference?”
“I like knowing roughly how many people are in the class, the max number, because I’ve had situations in the past where I’ve turned up and there were like 30 people and it was terrifying.”
“I wasn’t aware until I got to my first reformer class that you needed special grippy socks.”
“Parking is a big thing for me. I can get quite anxious if I don’t know where I’m going to park.”

“It’s helpful to have information about different class types so you don’t accidentally book the wrong one and go into something really hard.”
“I find it [social media booking] stressful because I don’t like pestering people.”
“I like being able to go on and see how many slots are available, click it, pay it, and book it. That’s easiest.”
“I don’t like it when a place is quite cliquey… a welcoming vibe is really important to me.”
“With reformer, I wonder what should I expect to change physically in my body? What’s it actually going to do different to mat pilates? What’s the difference?”
“I like knowing roughly how many people are in the class, the max number, because I’ve had situations in the past where I’ve turned up and there were like 30 people and it was terrifying.”
“I wasn’t aware until I got to my first reformer class that you needed special grippy socks.”
“Parking is a big thing for me. I can get quite anxious if I don’t know where I’m going to park.”

“It’s helpful to have information about different class types so you don’t accidentally book the wrong one and go into something really hard.”
“I find it [social media booking] stressful because I don’t like pestering people.”
“I like being able to go on and see how many slots are available, click it, pay it, and book it. That’s easiest.”
“I don’t like it when a place is quite cliquey… a welcoming vibe is really important to me.”
“With reformer, I wonder what should I expect to change physically in my body? What’s it actually going to do different to mat pilates? What’s the difference?”
“I like knowing roughly how many people are in the class, the max number, because I’ve had situations in the past where I’ve turned up and there were like 30 people and it was terrifying.”
“I wasn’t aware until I got to my first reformer class that you needed special grippy socks.”
“Parking is a big thing for me. I can get quite anxious if I don’t know where I’m going to park.”

It also clarified the clients' questions around pricing strategy and whether to utilise existing resources

Users were generally opposed to rigid block bookings

Pricing strategy was a specific focus of the research at the client’s request. While participants expected reformer classes to cost more than mat Pilates, most expressed frustration with rigid block booking, preferring individual classes or class-credit systems that allowed flexibility around work, health, and energy levels.

“If there’s no option to book onto an individual class and you have to commit to a block, I won’t go.”
“I slightly prefer class passes to block booking, just because if you can’t do one or two out of the block, suddenly it becomes bad value.”
“I’d expect reformer classes to be a higher hourly rate. Maybe £10 for an hour.”
“I think £15 for a [reformer] class sounds about right, but I don’t have anything to compare that against.”
“I think if you want to do reformer you’d want to do it regularly, but personally I wouldn’t want to pay £20 a week."

“If there’s no option to book onto an individual class and you have to commit to a block, I won’t go.”
“I slightly prefer class passes to block booking, just because if you can’t do one or two out of the block, suddenly it becomes bad value.”
“I’d expect reformer classes to be a higher hourly rate. Maybe £10 for an hour.”
“I think £15 for a [reformer] class sounds about right, but I don’t have anything to compare that against.”
“I think if you want to do reformer you’d want to do it regularly, but personally I wouldn’t want to pay £20 a week."

“If there’s no option to book onto an individual class and you have to commit to a block, I won’t go.”
“I slightly prefer class passes to block booking, just because if you can’t do one or two out of the block, suddenly it becomes bad value.”
“I’d expect reformer classes to be a higher hourly rate. Maybe £10 for an hour.”
“I think £15 for a [reformer] class sounds about right, but I don’t have anything to compare that against.”
“I think if you want to do reformer you’d want to do it regularly, but personally I wouldn’t want to pay £20 a week."

And expressed low interest in the client's existing library of online classes

Another question from the client was whether to feature her existing online class library as part of the website launch. Despite no local competitors offered online classes, interviews showed little demand for them, so I removed this from the MVP, and focused instead on strengthening the in-studio decision journey.

See the affinity map

A key constraint was balancing creativity with real-world feasibility.

One constraint shaped every design decision: The site needed to be replicable by a non-technical, time-pressed studio owner using Squarespace - without the use of custom CSS.

This ruled out overly complex layouts or interactions and pushed me to:

Explore what was realistically possible by browsing elements used in Squarespace templates

Prioritise clarity over novelty

Design layouts that felt engaging but structurally simple

Using design patterns that met user's mental models to explore widely in mid-fidelity

Before sketching initial wireframes, I analysed Pilates and yoga studio websites across different regions to identify familiar layouts and content patterns. The goal was not to replicate competitors, but to understand user expectations and reduce friction for first-time visitors.

To make sure I was designing a website that addressed user's informational queries as well as their layout mental models, I created a reference of typical design patterns for each section of each page I needed to create.

For every layout exploration, I kept the same core content sections based on user research and design patterns, but experimented with hierarchy, visual rhythm and interaction patterns.

Hierarchy

Visual rhythm

Interaction patterns

This allowed me to explore layout and structure without testing entirely different content each time.

Designing through uncertainty and making educated calls in a time crunch

Client communication was occasionally inconsistent or incomplete, and at key moments I didn’t receive critical inputs (such as final class types and pricing) in time.

Rather than pause progress, I:

Used interview and competitor insights to create well-reasoned placeholder content

Made educated guesses on content to keep content on track

Treated early designs as hypotheses to validate, not final answers

This introduced some rework following mid-fi user testing — but also ensured testing focused on real user understanding, not perfect data.

Mid-fi testing validated the structure, but revealed minor gaps in reassurance and decision support

Having walked my client through the different mid-fidelity layouts, I prototyped her preferred designs ready to take into usability tests, below.

The concepts I tested

Can users understand the difference between class types (reformer vs mat, level, intensity) and know how to prepare for them?

Is it clear how to navigate different pricing options, particularly between reformer and mat classes?

Do users feel confident to book a class based on the information provided?

Can users easily find practical information such as parking, arrival instructions, and studio access?

How do users assess the general vibe and trustworthiness of the studio?

What information was missing at key decision points

All five participants completed every task successfully, confirming that the overall structure and navigation supported core journeys. Testing instead highlighted where additional context and reassurance would support confident decision-making:

Earlier surfacing of low-commitment options → Intro offers were more appealing when surfaced separately from other pricing options.

Richer environmental context → Users wanted clearer visual cues, such as photos or short videos, to understand the space and classes in action.

Support for assessing schedule feasibility → Users wanted an efficient way to confirm whether appealing classes would realistically fit into their routines.

Visibility of policies that reduce perceived risk → Clear information about cancellations, refunds, and flexibility helped users feel safer booking.

Earlier surfacing of low-commitment options → Intro offers were more appealing when surfaced separately from other pricing options.

Richer environmental context → Users wanted clearer visual cues, such as photos or short videos, to understand the space and classes in action.

Visibility of policies that reduce perceived risk → Clear information about cancellations, refunds, and flexibility helped users feel safer booking.

Support for assessing schedule feasibility → Users wanted an efficient way to confirm whether appealing classes would realistically fit into their routines.

With mid-fi feedback collected, the next step was translating a social media brand into a usable digital design system

ALT-R Studio already had brand guidelines created by a brand designer at the outset. While these established a strong visual identity, they were primarily designed for print and social media use, requiring adaptation for a responsive website.

From the start, I focused on translating these assets into a web-ready system that balanced clarity, accessibility, and consistency with the warmth of the original brand.

I adapted the system by:

Refining typography to a clear digital pairing — Big Bang for display and Poppins for body copy — to support readability across screen sizes

Extending the colour palette with lighter tones and neutrals to improve hierarchy and layout flexibility

Adjusting spacing, and typographic hierarchy to meet accessibility and legibility requirements

The result was a web-ready design system that stayed true to the brand intent while working reliably across devices.

Hi-fi testing validated the design, but highlighted one key improvement to the classes page hierarchy

100% task success rate across all tested flows

0 usability blockers reported during testing

5/5 average ease-of-use rating

While users valued the new classes in action content, they wanted this visual context closer to the point of class evaluation. Seeing how classes look, feel, and differ was most useful while actively evaluating class types, rather than further down the page.

Some experienced uncertainty as to the rationale for separating the strength class from reformer classes, despite both using the same equipment

Classes page before

The client had categorised the strength class separately from the reformer classes, despite it still using a reformer machine, and users had to scroll to the bottom of the page to discover sample class videos.

Classes page after

Sample class videos are now housed in an accordion under the class description, keeping the page scannable while making richer context easy to access. I also reframed the class taxonomy, folding the single strength-focused class into the Reformer category under a name –Hybrid– that reflects its combined strength and reformer focus.

Alternative layouts I explored but didn't take forward

When exploring how to surface classes in action content alongside class types, I initially sketched a layout with a large primary image supported by smaller left-aligned thumbnail images and videos. Think Amazon.

I discounted this approach as it introduced unnecessary interaction complexity, pulled attention away from the class information itself, and would be harder for a time-pressed, non-technical client to replicate reliably in a site builder. More importantly, it risked slowing decision-making by adding visual noise at the point of comparison.