SoulCycle is one of the most popular boutique fitness studios in metropolitan areas like New York City, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. Their signature class is a 45-minute indoor cycling session led by skilled instructors and powered by high-energy playlists. Riders are encouraged to pedal to the beat of the music, and inspirational mantras keep the momentum going.

SoulCycle greatly values high-touch customer experiences. They wanted to improve the convenience of signing up without taking away from the personal relationship that many customers have with the brand. To accomplish this, SoulCycle partnered with Prolific Interactive to build their first ever iOS app to revolutionize the booking experience for riders on the go.

The SoulCycle app gives customers exactly what they want when it comes to booking classes: speed and reliability. It allows users to book specific bikes in class, whether they want to watch the instructor from the front row or sit in the back with a friend. Since classes can fill up within minutes, a streamlined experience was paramount. Riders can see spots fill up in real time and snag the bike they want with a single tap.

Working with SoulCycle, we spoke to over 200 riders through interviews, user testing, studio visits, and beta testing. To fully immerse ourselves in Soul, we rode regularly, collaborated with the SoulCycle team at their Manhattan headquarters, and even worked a shift behind the front desk. The users were at the forefront of every design decision throughout the process, resulting in an app that allows riders to do what they want most: get off the phone and onto a bike.