Bringing Life Metrics to Life: Our Latest Life Dashboard Design Update

Summary:

We investigated the best methods for exporting, formatting, and visualizing daily health and life data from Apple Health and other sources into a compelling, artful dashboard experience. We explored syncing gaps and brainstormed richer metaphors for long-term visual storytelling. We also began linking concepts like HRV, mindfulness, and hydration with visual elements like rivers, trees, and flowers.

How Can We Make Health Data Beautiful?

In our recent exploration of health metrics, we stumbled upon a profound realization: data doesn’t just need to be functional; it needs to be beautiful. As we dove into the world of Apple Health exports and visualization, one thing became crystal clear: “If it’s not gorgeous and narrative and borderline artwork, I’m not interested.” This mantra became our guiding star, pushing us to think beyond mere numbers and charts. We want to create a dashboard that feels like a piece of art, something that inspires and motivates.

Imagine waking up to a dashboard that not only tracks your hydration and mindfulness but does so in a way that feels like a serene morning walk through a forest. That’s the kind of experience we’re aiming for. It’s not just about tracking metrics; it’s about crafting a visual narrative that resonates with the user.

What Surprised Us About Data Exporting?

As we began our journey, we were surprised by the complexities of exporting data from Apple Health. We thought it would be a straightforward process, but oh boy, were we wrong! We validated the CSV export and quickly realized that some metrics, like mindfulness minutes, were playing hard to get. “Let’s see everything we can measure, and how to make it visible,” we said, zooming out to scope the full potential.

After some trial and error, we managed to clean up the Apple Health export and set up a consistent daily aggregation. It felt like a mini-victory! But then, we hit a wall with syncing issues from other apps like Insight Timer and Zepp. It was a rollercoaster of emotions—one moment we were celebrating our progress, and the next, we were scratching our heads in confusion.

How Did Metaphors Shape Our Visualization Approach?

One of the most exciting aspects of our exploration was the integration of metaphors into our visualization strategy. We began linking concepts like heart rate variability (HRV), mindfulness, and hydration with visual elements like rivers, trees, and flowers. This metaphor-driven approach not only made the data more engaging but also added layers of meaning.

“I want this to be something I literally wake up to look at,” became a rallying cry for our team. We envisioned a dashboard where each river represented hydration levels, each tree symbolized mindfulness, and flowers bloomed with every health milestone achieved. It’s a beautiful way to connect the dots between our daily habits and our overall well-being.

What Went Wrong and How Did We Pivot?

Of course, not everything went smoothly. We faced our fair share of hiccups—some metrics just wouldn’t sync, and we discovered that Zepp and Whoop had limitations that left us feeling a bit deflated. The visuals we created in Looker Studio didn’t quite hit the mark either. It was a moment of reckoning, but instead of getting bogged down, we pivoted.

We decided to shift our focus to Flourish and Lottie for richer visual storytelling. The beauty of this process was that we didn’t get stuck trying to perfect one tool; we kept moving toward an expressive, integrated system. It was a reminder that sometimes, the best discoveries come from the unexpected detours.

What’s Next for Our Health Dashboard?

As we look ahead, we’re buzzing with excitement about the next steps. We’re setting up a daily sync verification process to catch any missing metrics early on. We’re also exploring a Relevance AI-to-Webflow pipeline for visual automation, which could take our storytelling to the next level.

We’re eager to design our first full-screen visualization in Lottie using our flower metaphor, and we can’t wait to see how it all comes together. The journey is far from over, and we’re committed to building a dashboard that not only tracks health metrics but also inspires and motivates.

In the end, this exploration has been a delightful mix of creativity, problem-solving, and a whole lot of fun. We’re excited to keep pushing boundaries and discovering new ways to connect people with their health data. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue this vibrant journey!

Tools we used:

Apple Health: Primary health data aggregator — https://apple.com/health

Health Export CSV Tool: Data export and format prep — https://apps.apple.com

Zapier: Sheet updates and automation backbone — https://zapier.com

Webflow: Blog and eventual dashboard home — https://webflow.com

Flourish: Potential rich visualization layer — https://flourish.studio

Lottie: Animated visual storytelling — https://lottiefiles.com

Zepp: Health tracking device ecosystem — https://zepp.com