In a collaboration that blends heartfelt design with digital innovation, Alice and Hoda Kotb have crafted Joy 101, a wellness app that feels more like a daily companion than another self-help tool.
When journalist, bestselling author and former TODAY Show co-host Hoda Kotb stepped away from morning television, she didn’t retreat – she reimagined. With a mission to spread joy in a world that could use more of it, Hoda has launched Joy 101, a digital membership platform designed to deliver simple, sustainable well-being tools to a global audience.
Helping bring this ambitious vision to life was Alice, a design and technology consultancy known for turning complex ideas into elegant digital experiences. The perfect team for the job, given that Joy 101 isn’t your average wellness app.
Framed as a “deep breath” in digital form, the platform offers members a personal pathway to joy through breathwork, yoga, meditation, journaling, and more. Unlike many apps in the space that lean on gamification and pressure, Joy 101 meets users where they are, encouraging micro-moments of presence and gratitude without strict, one-size-fits-all prescriptions.
Hoda’s voice is woven into every element, from curated content to onboarding interactions. “I wanted Joy 101 to feel like a deep breath – every detail, from its design to its voice, reflects how I strive to live: present, grateful, and led by heart,” she says.
For Alice, this was no small feat. Designing for a personality with such a broad and devoted audience meant translating not just a brand but a worldview.
Christian Titze, chief strategy officer at Alice, described it as “both an honour and a thrilling design challenge.” He explains, “Our goal was to translate her vision into a product and experience that feels as personal, warm, and intentional as she is while inspiring real change and emotional resonance in people’s daily lives.”
That user-first, deeply empathetic approach extended through every detail of the platform. Paul Woods, chief design officer and partner at Alice, says the team aimed to “build a digital product that genuinely felt like an extension of Hoda’s personality and core values – something deeply resonant with her audience.”
Paul Woods
Rather than force daily streaks or rigid milestones, Joy 101 uses gentle, intuitive interactions to foster positive daily habits. “Our approach emphasised UX principles that reinforce positive daily habits. Rejecting typical gamified models built on streaks and urgency, Joy 101’s UX encourages rewarding micro-interactions and highly personalised content,” Paul adds.
One standout example is the onboarding journey, where Hoda herself welcomes new users through a system that tailors experiences to their mood, interests, content preferences, and available time. From there, Joy 101 adapts continually, creating a sense that it is growing with each user rather than dictating to them.
Beyond app-based moments, Joy 101 is also a membership community. Subscribers can access live events, exclusive workshops, and early invitations to in-person retreats, extending the brand’s sense of joy and belonging far beyond a smartphone screen.
A carefully chosen advisory group, the Joy Collective, helps shape the platform’s content. It includes familiar names like Maria Shriver, Jon Batiste, and Dr. Wendy Suzuki, bringing a diverse set of wellness, cultural, and business voices into the fold.
From a technical standpoint, launching an app for a household name like Hoda came with its own hurdles. “The biggest technical challenge involved the realities of launching an app for one of the nation’s most beloved personalities live on the TODAY show,” Paul explains. With thousands of fans downloading and logging in simultaneously, stability and stress testing were critical to ensuring a smooth rollout.
Co-creation was central to the project, and Alice worked shoulder to shoulder with Joy 101’s in-house content creators, product managers, and developers, even sharing Slack channels to keep ideas flowing. The app’s logo, designed by Metalab, was also a product of this highly collaborative ecosystem.
Paul describes the process as a “one-team approach” from start to finish, which proved essential for maintaining a sense of Hoda’s values and voice across every interaction.
Another unique design consideration was ensuring Joy 101 could expand naturally into future formats. “Our approach treated Joy 101 not as a standalone app but as a holistic experience,” Paul says. Knowing that live events, community moments, and other experiences were on the horizon, the Alice team structured the product architecture to adapt and scale, ensuring the brand could grow sustainably without losing its core sense of intimacy and trust.
Working with a personal brand of Hoda’s magnitude also provided valuable lessons. Alice has built experiences for numerous celebrity-founded businesses, but Paul notes that Joy 101 stood out thanks to its absolute clarity of purpose.
“There was a clear vision and deep understanding of audience needs from the very beginning,” he reflects. “That clarity made the process smooth and focused, guiding decisions across product development and design.” The close partnership, he adds, paid off – Joy 101 quickly hit Number 1 in the Health and Fitness category on the App Store after its live TV debut.
Joy 101 launched with more than 600 curated pieces of content and promises new material every day, making it a living, breathing platform of positivity. The brand’s wider mission goes beyond wellness trends, aiming to help people cultivate sustainable habits that support long-term calm and presence, all while nurturing community and human connection.
Alice’s work shows how design can do more than look beautiful; it can serve as a vehicle for emotion, empathy, and transformation. In a category crowded with one-size-fits-all promises, Joy 101 feels genuinely personal, which is a rare feat in the digital wellness boom.
As Hoda’s followers step into this new chapter alongside her, Joy 101 sets out to deliver on its promise of making joy a daily practice, not just an aspiration. For those who want more than an app – something closer to a trusted companion – it might be the breath of fresh air they’ve been waiting for.
