Group Fitness, Redefined
Since its inception in 1998, Barry’s has steadily grown from one studio location in West Hollywood to amassing an international cult following of celebrities, workout enthusiasts, and those who simply want to get in shape. Today, Barry’s is on the cusp of continued global expansion with over 100,000 members working out weekly in studios in over a dozen different countries. With no plans of slowing down anytime soon, Barry’s came to Barrel to create a holistic digital strategy to support the burgeoning demand for ‘The Best Workout in The World.’
A Collaborative Partnership
The ask from Barry’s was clear: establish a cohesive digital system that supports the brand’s global expansion, promotes a sense of community in and out of the studio, and increases overall class bookings. We worked closely with the Barry’s Bootcamp team through a series of collaborative workshops to establish a unified technical and design approach. This consists of a simplified information architecture, intuitive user experience, best-in-class development practices, and a visually rich design system.
A Global-First Architecture
Designing for an international audience became the cornerstone to our overall strategy. To start, we prototyped and iterated on a series of potential solutions to streamline the booking experience while also telling an engaging brand narrative for existing and prospective clients all around the world. The result is a user-friendly site architecture that guides users through educational content while also providing clear access points to book a class.
Designing A Seamless Booking Flow
Throughout this process, our design and development team worked closely with one another to ensure that the booking flow is smooth, seamless, and intuitive to Barry’s clientele. Intelligent location remembering, a custom country selection process, and a progressive multi-step flow were a few of the enhancements made to this overall experience.
Bridging the In-Studio to Digital Gap
The Barry’s Bootcamp client experience is unlike any other group fitness studio. New clients are greeted by the friendly staff, instructors take the time to answer any questions before the class begins, and luxury amenities are readily abundant. For those who have walked into a Barry’s Bootcamp studio, the brand’s core values of family, fun, hard work, and a fearless pursuit of innovation are without a doubt communicated. We worked to ensure that clients visiting the website left with the same level of knowledge and comfort that visiting a studio provides through custom pages for educational content about the workout and an immersive first-timers guide.
Dedicated hubs for community events, blog content, and detailed studio spotlights highlight the “local but global” communal aspect of Barry’s Bootcamp.
Designing a Flexible + Scalable Visual System
The 6-month project culminated in a visual system that is unmistakably Barry’s. Modular components, reusable templates, a consistent UI guide, and a smooth motion framework empower the Barry’s Bootcamp team to make edits and changes without the fear that their brand will be diluted.
Extending The System
Throughout our partnership, we’ve extended the visual system to the retail arm of the Barry’s Bootcamp brand. We helped architect the strategy and design for Barry’s Bootcamp Store and have supported multiple collaborations and partnerships since its creation. This includes an online auction that benefits charity by selling one-of-a-kind apparel created by Balmain creative director, Olivier Rousteing and an interactive landing page to highlight their collaboration with athleisure brand, Lululemon.
Our team at Barrel balances a strong design POV with technical knowledge and a buttoned-up process that has made this large and complex overhaul seamless – and highly successful.
