What is graffed?

Graffed is a simple tool for tracking your measurements. When you’re losing weight AND gaining muscle, the scales never tell the whole picture. And besides, the thing people notice most about you is the way your body shape has changed. Being able to measure key body parts and set goals, and then watching your body shape change is very rewarding!

The story

I have been recording various body parts in the past, and while my charts in my notebook looked okay, it didn’t feel very tidy or satisfying. So, I looked around for fitness tools online and found none that really worked for me. Luckily, I’m also a  web designer, and I began toying with the idea of creating my own website that would do that. Fortunately, I also know Dan, a fantastic developer, who learned flex (the flash-based language graffed is built in) and did all the maths I definitely could not do myself.

Why measure on a body?

Initially the idea was to create graphs and charts. Although this is a great way to see the downward trend, it didn’t really show me how it has really changed my body. The best way to do that is on a real body shape. We plan on creating some tools for more traditional reporting very soon, so you can see your changes in lots of different visual ways.

Perfecting the bodies

The most difficult part of this app was getting the bodies to properly represent both the girl and the guy. Because there are such a variety of body shapes, the curves need to move seemlessly into the next curve. Perfecting the bodies will be an ongoing project: I’ll be constantly refining the curves, and in the future, we’ll also use your proportions to determine if you’re more athletic or curvy. For the very skinning or the obese, the bodies lose their shapes at a certain point. I will also be addressing that. If you are measuring a body part that looks weird to you, please send me a screenshot. Using real measurements from real people is the best way to determine if my curves are working correctly, so I appreciate your help!

Have fun

We’ve set a few minimum and maximum values for the body shapes, but they’re pretty generous. One of my favourite things about graffed is how fun it is to play with the bodies to make them look crazy!

I hope you enjoy graffed, and I look forward to hearing what you think!

Sincerely,

Kat