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Client
Public Health England
Domain
Health
Service
Behavioural Design, CX
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Over 7 million downloads for Couch to 5k thanks to user focus and robust research

Promoting healthier life choices through behavioural science, human-centred design, and building targeted digital apps for Public Health England.

The challenge

Unhealthy habits are responsible for around 40% of all deaths in England, costing the NHS more than £11 billion a year. Public Health England wanted to increase public awareness about how daily behaviours impact health, now and in later life. ​

Transform’s goal was to inspire the public to get serious about prevention.​

The solution

Transform studied public health records to identify the bad habits causing major preventable diseases. Then, using behavioural science, found the common obstacles to adopting new habits or changing old ones.​

With valuable research on the end-user, our UX, UI and content experts worked with Software Engineers to develop digital tools people would love using every day. These are How Are You, C25K, Drinks Tracker, SmokeFree, Easy Meals and Sugar Smart.​

  • Putting the user first using quantitative research to anticipate how they might use or benefit from the tools​
  • Bringing interconnected capabilities together, from modern technology, behavioural science, and data analytics to user-centred design​
  • Creating six highly-targeted, ultra-specific digital tools varied in shape and design to answer the specific needs of users​.

The results

  • 7 million downloads of the Couch to 5k app
  • 3m+ users of 'How Are You?' tool
  • 2m downloads of Sugar Smart in the first 2 months

Learn more

Our work in the public sector extends beyond this project. If you’re interested in hearing more about our wider experience, please get in touch.

The Sustainable Development Goals we hit with this project

We built several platforms that demonstrate action to promote physical health and wellbeing​

Our Sugar Smart and Healthy Meals tools can be used by anyone wanting to educate themselves on better nutrition.​

The tools and apps were available to everyone, regardless of gender.​

Sustainability was achieved through accessible design and low-fi graphics.​

Our research specifically focused on life stage vs age as we know life expectancy differs between lower & wealthier socioeconomic groups.​

By designing products that would encourage people to change their behavior with better decision-making around their health.​