The Nike Run Club (NRC) app is more than a tool for athletes: It’s a space for personal growth, a focal point for a community of support, and a resource for those who practice the most OG sport of all; it is everything you need to start running, keep running, and enjoy running, more.

Training Plans and Audio Guided Runs (AGRs) are two features, unique to NRC, that exemplify that promise. AGRs motivate and guide you as you run, telling you when to slow down, how to speed up, when to take a break. Training Plans are collections of runs organized according to your specific goals, whether it’s starting your first race or setting a new PR.

As NRC’s library of content grew exponentially, Nike found itself with two key challenges: many users didn’t realize the depth of coaching expertise available, and those that did struggled to find or identify the type of run they wanted.

We were invited to define a new, extendable design system for AGRs and Training Plans that would help users navigate the app while creating a compelling and cohesive experience for NRC.

Working closely with Nike’s digital-design team, we leveraged Nike’s original design language to develop a visual system for AGR. Everyday runs use a pattern approach inspired by running shoe soles; Speed runs use expressive typography to reflect the experience of various run types; Long runs capture the trance-like state of endurance through repeating dynamic silhouettes.

For Training Plans, we defined an underlying architecture that emphasized the types of workouts: Numerals for distance-based plans, illustration for introductory plans, controlled flexibility for standalone plans.

Taken together, the system is flexible enough to account for ever-evolving content, and efficient enough to be applied across Nike’s global territories, all while maintaining a unique, navigable expression for NRC.