Refreshino

Project Overview

Refreshino is a B2B wellness Chrome extension that helps desk workers stay energized and healthy by nudging them toward short, guided movement and mindfulness breaks throughout the workday. I lead the end-to-end design of the product from onboarding to the reminder and exercise system, building both the extension and web experience for teams working hybrid, remote, or in-office.

Key Details:

Problem

Long stretches of sitting quietly damage focus, energy, and health but most wellness tools either interrupt real work or feel too generic to stick with. Companies needed something that employees would actually use without breaking their flow, and HR/wellness teams needed a way to see it was actually working.

Key Issues:

Prolonged sitting causes fatigue and lost focus, but is easy to ignore in the moment
Generic wellness apps feel disconnected from real work rhythms
Every workplace culture is different — some teams want discreet breaks, others energetic ones
Companies need visible proof of impact, not just "a nice-to-have" perk

Research

Physical inactivity from prolonged sitting causes around 3.2 million deaths every year — comparable to major global health crises — so the underlying problem wasn't in question. The real research challenge was behavioral: how do you get busy desk workers to actually take a break, and keep coming back to it daily? Research also shows that breaking up long periods of sitting improves key health markers like blood pressure and cardiovascular risk, which shaped how the reminder system needed to work.

Research Activities:

Reviewed workplace-health research (WHO, Harvard Health, Oxford workplace studies) on the impact of micro-breaks
Gathered feedback from early partner companies during rollout
Explored flexible "visibility modes" so movement could stay discreet or energizing depending on office culture
Mapped onboarding needs: work hours, health needs, and movement preferences

Design Process

I designed the full flow: profile setup → routine customization → daily reminder and exercise flow → progress tracking — with a focus on making it feel like a lightweight companion, not another task on the to-do list. Onboarding, engagement, and gamification patterns were layered in to help the habit actually stick, backed by a scalable design system so new exercise types and features could be added without breaking consistency.

Design Steps:

Designed onboarding covering work hours, health needs, and movement preferences
Built the reminder and guided-exercise flow across extension and web
Designed adjustable intensity/visibility modes for different office cultures
Created onboarding, engagement, and gamification systems to drive daily habit formation
Built a scalable design system and reusable UI patterns

Solution

The final product nudges desk workers at the right moments with short, guided movement or mindfulness sessions — fully adjustable to their schedule and workplace culture, with weekly insights showing their progress over time.

Key Improvements:

Smart, personalized reminders based on schedule and needs
Short guided movement and breathing/mindfulness sessions
Adjustable visibility and intensity modes for different team cultures
Weekly wellness insights and progress tracking
Chrome extension + web dashboard, built for hybrid, remote, and in-office teams

Results

Refreshino has achieved a 91% user satisfaction rate, with setup taking under 2 minutes and companies reporting a 10x return on team productivity. Founders and product leads at adopting companies have described it as a wellbeing initiative that genuinely changes daily habits and energy levels — not just a nice-to-have perk.

Outcomes:

91% user satisfaction rate
Under 2 minutes average setup time
10x reported ROI on team productivity
Positive feedback from founders and product leads on real behavior change
Adopted by multiple companies as part of employee wellness programs