PetConnect
Overview
Millions of animals in the U.S. are currently in shelters and pet-homes waiting to be adopted. Many of them are healthy and would make the most loyal and loving pets with the right owners. PetConnect would aid the process of pet owners finding their purr-fect match.
Problem
Pet adopters want to find a pet that matches their lifestyle, considering factors including breed, gender, age, temperament, and health status, so that they can provide the most love and care for their next companion. Currently, pet listings online can be misleading with insufficient or outdated information, or they can be confusing to navigate. These issues can result in pairing with a pet that is not fully compatible to the adopters wants and needs.
Solution
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Design a system that effectively matches the qualities of available pets with the personality and lifestyle of potential adopters
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Improve the transparency of information about available pets so that adopters can confidently choose the pet that best suits their lifestyle and preferences
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Facilitate meaningful interactions between potential adopters and pets
Role:
UX/UI Designer
UX Researcher
Type:
Mobile Application
Duration:
5 days
Research
Interviewing individuals who had adopted pets previously gave me information on their journey and pain points within the process.
Adopters want...
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transparent information about the animal's health status, characteristics, and background
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ways to make sure the pet's temperament will fit their lifestyle
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up-to-date information about a pet
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to know how the possible new pet will interact with other people/animals
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to foster/meet the pet before committing to adopting to get a better understanding of the pet's temperament
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interactions with volunteers/whoever is currently taking care of the pet to stay informed
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multiple images and videos of the sheltered pet
I also downloaded the top three pet adoption applications in the App Store to conduct a competitive analysis to understand:
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What information do adoption services provide for available pets?
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Examine the pros/cons of how different services display information for available pets
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Find out how adoption services ensure that potential adopters are finding the right fit for a pet
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Understand design trends/common features within the industry
Strengths
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Offers a adopter questionnaire that helps personalize the pet search
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Lots of filters for finding the right pet
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Multiple pictures of a pet so adopters can browse
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Ability to favorite a pet
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Easy to read overview of pet
Weaknesses
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No option to contact shelter/foster home for quick questions
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Listings of pets are not always up to date/recently updated
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Cannot change questionnaire answers after filling it out once
Home Screen
Questionnaire
Filters
Pet Listing
Characteristic Match
Strengths
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Easy to read overview of pet characteristics
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Shows when the last update was for the pet listing
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Multiple pictures of pet so adopters can browse
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Ability to favorite pet
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Variety of filters to find the right pet
Weaknesses
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Description is not complete within app- have to go to third party website to read more
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No option to contact shelter/foster home for quick questions
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Does not indicate whether pet is a good match
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Same listing posted multiple times
Home Screen
Filters
Pet Listing
Pet Details
Strengths
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Multiple pictures on listing so adopters can browse
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Homepage has grid view so adopters can see more available pets
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Contact shelter/foster home option
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Detailed “About” description
Weaknesses
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Not many filter options
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Filters are limiting (can only select one option, instead of multiple)
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No quick breakdown of pet characteristics
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Less modern design
(Petdar)
Home Screen
Filters
Pet Listing
Pet Details
User Task Flow & Wireframes
Creating a user task flow helped me focus on the goal and how users would interact with the product. This also showed what screens I would be designing for this certain task.
Click image to enlarge
After brainstorming different solutions, wireframing helped me visualize what the design of the app could look like. I decided to go with a mobile app because it would be more convenient and accessible for users to directly open it from their home screen, rather than having to open a web browser and navigating to a website. A mobile app would also offer streamlined navigation with a simplified menu structure, making it easier for users to find the information they need quickly.
If this project were to continue, I believe designing mobile first would be the most streamlined method because it focuses on the main goals and content of the product with the limited amount of real estate on the screen.
Create an Account
Questionnaire
Questionnaire Confirmation
Filling out a questionnaire regarding personal and pet preferences would allow the adopter to input what attributes they would want in a pet, then the app’s system would scan the pet listings in the database to see which animals are the best fit for the adopter based on their answers.
Browse Matches/Home Page
Pet Listing
Biography/Contact Shelter
I wanted to show how each pet matched with the user, therefore added an indication of how many attributes were compatible based on the answers from the questionnaire. I left the main information such as name, age, and breed. If adopters were interested in seeing how they matched and what didn’t fit the criteria, they could open the listing and view the pros and cons along with other details such as a biography on the pet and contact information for any questions or concerns.
Schedule Playdate 1/2
Playdate Confirmation
Scheduling a playdate to meet with the pet would give adopters the opportunity to see the dog in real life in different settings and decide if the temperament of the dog would fit their preferences. Adopters could also bring their current pets or kids, if any, to see if they would get along with the potential new companion.
Schedule Playdate 2/2
Latest Iteration
As I was deciding on stylistic choices for the final screens, I went with the color blue because in color psychology blue represents security, trust, loyalty, and responsibility, which are all attributes an adoption service should have. This shade of blue still has a feel of companionship and playfulness that I thought went well with the product. Fun photos of animals and friendly copy adds an inviting tone for the application.
Next Steps
With the timeline for this design challenge being so short, I had to make some assumptions for my design process. Ideally, I would have wanted to get richer research insights by interviewing more individuals within the targeted user group. Next steps for this project would be to get user testing done and use that feedback to iterate and improve this product.