The high number of people walking, playing, and hanging out with their dogs everyday in a metropolitan like NYC surprises me and my team. We wanted to dive deep into the relationship between owner and their pets, especially under the influence of the pandemic and at-home quarantines. But since the pets couldn't talk, how can owners best take care of their wants and needs?
My role in this project is to design the digital interface - the app that pairs to the physical detector.
How might we break the "language barrier" and take best care of our dog's physical need and wellbeing as family members?
· market research ·
· interviews ·
· user personas ·
What are the competitors doing & not doing?
· comparative analysis ·
2. Access to past data is helpful - to learn trend in certain behaviors
3. None of them focuses on dog's mental health
4. Not having direct messages from the dog feels distant as dog-owners rather than dog-parents.
· user pain points ·
· key product features ·
· key product features ·
· information architecture ·
· low-fi prototype·
1. sketch of possible sections
2. sketch of user flows
· style guide ·
· hi-fi prototypes ·
Final Screens
Created with Figma
This was the first project that allowed me to go through the entire UX process, from defining the problem to design for a solution. I'm extremely proud of what my team and I have accomplished and what I've learned.
On that note, here are some things I’d improve on in my next project...
- Don't be afraid of taking feedback and start over if needed. UX Design is a non-linear, iterative process that requires a lot of divergent and convergent thinking. So don't hurry to a solution without fully understanding the problem or the user's actual needs.
- Always start with the "why". As a designer, I should constantly remind myself who I'm designing for and what problem I'm trying to solve. By having a strong purpose in mind, I can better cater my user with an effective solution.
- User always comes first! I found it extremely helpful to have conducted interviews with actual dog owners and created consumer profiles with a range of personality types. By actively listening to the user and asking follow-up questions, I was able to dig into the pain points.
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