Paw Connect
Pet management and community app
Client - Personal project
Project duration - 3 months
Role - UX Designer
Research tools used - Figma
Paw Connect app will help pet owners in taking better care of their pets and along the way make friends for their pets as well as friends for them. It will provide them with the ability to keep all pet information in one place and also be connected to the community.
Problem
Without a shared interest in pets, it might be challenging to find common ground for conversations and activities with people without pets.People without pets may have different lifestyles, schedules, and priorities, making it challenging to find opportunities to connect.
Goals
The goals are pretty clear here: we would like to understand the specific needs, preferences and the pain points of pet owners. We would also need to evaluate other pet related apps to identify the strengths and weaknesses that are out there in the market.
Methodology
The methods I used were:
Competitive analysis I feel that studying the competition and learning from them will give us more to work with and we can address the problems better. So in this case I needed to get an idea of who the competitors were and what were they missing in the apps.
Interviews Interacting and talking to people and getting their opinion is so important to provide them with they need and will use . With this method I would know directly what the users are struggling with.This was very important as I needed to know the root problem of what the other apps in the Pet world were missing and what was needed from my app.
Research This part was tough as there are apps for pet needs but no app that has it all. There were apps that just were for pet workout, pet health care and pet vetcare booking. But no app had a pet community as well as pet information that was all in one app.
User
I was able to interview 3 people for my research and it was very interesting to talk to all of them and get an idea of what they were looking for and what frustrated them in the apps that they had used previously. The following was what I had focused on :
User behaviors: How do pet owners currently manage their pets' needs? What tools or resources do they use?
Pain points: What challenges do pet owners face when caring for their pets? Are there any frustrations or inefficiencies in their current methods?
Goals and motivations: What are the main goals and priorities for pet owners when it comes to managing their pets' well-being? What motivates them to use a pet-related app or service?
User preferences: What features or functionalities would pet owners find most valuable in a pet-related app? What design elements or user interface elements resonate with them?
Then came the Affinity mapping. It helped me in grouping related items together and labeling these groups to help later in problem solving.
User Persona
User personas play an important part because they create a clear understanding of the target audience for a product or service.They enable teams to empathize with users, make informed design choices, prioritize features, and ultimately create a more user-centered and effective product.
Information Architecture
Creating an information architecture (IA) for Paw Connect, a pet management app, involved structuring the content and features in a way that ensures usability and efficiency.By following the structured outline and considering user needs, Paw Connect can provide a seamless and efficient platform for pet management. This helped me to organize the content that I wanted in the app.
User Flow and Sitemap
Sitemaps helped me in planning and organizing the information and ensure efficient navigation. Additionally, I think if working in a team they facilitate communication and serve as a reference point for future updates and iterations.
User flows in my opinion were used here to map out the steps a user takes to accomplish a specific task or goal within a website or app.
Feature Priority List
Creating a feature priority map for Paw connect involved identifying and categorizing the features based on their importance and urgency. This process ensured for me that the most critical features are developed and implemented first.
Low Fidelity Wireframes
Sketching a wireframe helps in the design process by quickly visualizing layout ideas and user interface concepts in a low-fidelity format. I think for me sketching frames also encourages creativity and problem-solving as I can easily refine and adjust the designs based on how it looks and also some feedback.
Mid Fidelity Wireframes
Creating a mid-fidelity wireframe helps in providing a balance between low-fidelity sketches and high-fidelity designs, offering enough detail to communicate the structure and functionality of a digital product without getting bogged down in visual aesthetics. So here I had some trouble in some screens and this took some time but I got what I actually wanted with some feedback from the users.
DESIGN PROCESS
Design methodology
STYLE GUIDE
Style guides ensure consistency across different components of a product or brand, helping maintain a cohesive and recognizable identity.It includes guidelines on typography, color palette, spacing, layout ensuring consistency across different components.
TYPOGRAPHY
Typography is crucial in design because it significantly impacts readability, user experience, and visual appeal. In this app I used Montserrat which is a san serif font that is known for its clean lines and geometric fonts.
COLOR
Color makes designs look nice, helps people recognize brands, communicates feelings, organizes information, and ensures everyone can use designs easily. The color should connect to the users and should help recognize the brand.
LOGO
Creating a logo for a brand is so important as it helps recognize a brand, it helps users connect to the brand and so it should be unique and something the user will remember and recognize.
High Fidelity Wireframes
High-fidelity wireframes are important as they provide a detailed representation of the final product's layout, functionality, and interactions. High-fidelity wireframes helped me refine the design elements and ensure consistency before moving into the prototype phase, ultimately resulting in a more polished and user-friendly product. Here some screens worked for me and some needed some minor changes as the images weren’t working and also some screens were not as user friendly so needed to be changed.
Testing
OBJECTION -
Knowing if the user can use the app with ease or not
To get first hand feedback from users.
User interface
TASK -
Log in
Add a new pet
Access community
Add a new friend
USER INSIGHT -
The Pet information screen doesn’t show the birthday but shows the age of the pet in two places on the information screen
The Screens are colorful and playful and easy to understand. The users liked the playful nature.
Making a new friend was an easy task and also sending messages.
The users liked the community feature and said more things can be added like pet friendly places, parks etc.
The users suggested adding a calendar feature in the app for playdates and also Doctor appointments , grooming and all for pets.
Overall the users were satisfied with the app and it was easy for them to use it and was easily accessed.
Initially, the pet information screen displayed the age in two separate places. Based on user feedback, we added the date of birth instead. Users had no other suggestions or corrections. The users were pleased with the colors and also the content. It was easy for them to navigate from one screen to the other.
Final Designs
After receiving feedback from the users, I made some changes to the design that were convenient for the users.User feedback on this design validated the assumptions I made during the design phase.
Takeaways
If I were to continue this project I would add a few things :
Calendar feature for playdates and doctor appointments.
Something like an Amber alert for dogs where lost and found pets can be reported.
Some training videos for pets and owners.