5
Months
6
Designers
UX Designer Researcher
Figma Photoshop Miro
Posting pets becomes a trend
Recognizing the surge in pet ownership, especially among the youthful demographic, I teamed up with fellow students at UCSD's entrepreneurship club to tackle the growing need for social connection among pet enthusiasts. Against the backdrop of the pandemic, which has heightened feelings of loneliness, we seized an opportunity to bridge the gap between digital interaction and real-world connections through social media. Our app aims not only to capitalize on the trend of "virtual petting," providing comfort and companionship in challenging times, but also to facilitate in-person socialization for local pet owners. Join me as we delve into the intersection of technology, the love for pets, and the remedy for loneliness.
Discovering user needs
To solidify our idea and glean deeper insights from real-world users to set the priority of our app, we conducted user research by surveying over 60 pet lovers and owners. The key findings highlight the needs for Community, Socilization, and Content.
... and pet needs
Following our user research, we delved into secondary articles from various animal hospitals. Our findings revealed the critical role of socialization in the overall health of pets. This reaffirmed our commitment to creating a pet lovers' community aimed at fostering socialization for both humans and animals.
Quote 1
"Socializing your pet ensures its ability to react to the world in a healthy way, without fear or aggression."
Quote 2
"Socialization prepares pets for various situations at the vet and beyond, teaching interaction with objects, animals, and people."
What's the pain point?
Users want
A socialization community for sharing and enjoying pet content, with the possibility of connecting with fellow pet owners for real-life meetups.
Yet,
There isn't a unified platform for pet lovers to form communities and meet up with other pet owners.
So, let's
Create a pet enthusiasts community to foster high quality pet contents and serve as a starting point to meet young generation's emotional needs for socialization.
User Personas
Gaining insight from user research, we recognized our target audience as those who own or adore pets. We crafted the following personas.
03.IDEATE
How do we address the problem?
Informed by user needs and personas, we analyzed competitors and brainstormed the key features in FigJam. Through iterative discussions, we condensed our ideas to prioritize four key functions for the present.
Discover Nearby Pets
On the home page, users will find a swipe card feature enabling them to discover other pets nearby (learning from Tinder). Each card will exclusively display pet information without revealing details about the owners.
Content Feed
Users will be able to share, like, and comment on pet-related content, mirroring the functionality found on platforms like Xiaohongshu. They can also explore and view content posted by other users.
Chat
Users have the ability to initiate conversations with others via swipe cards and posts, fostering opportunities for offline meetups and real-life connections.
Pet profile
Users can create profiles for their pets, similar to Instagram profiles, where they can interact with others using their pet's identity, nurturing authentic "pet socialization."
Designing user flow
Having defined the features, we created a user workflow roadmap to visually outline interactions and connect internal functions. This chart serves as both a guide for developers, ensuring seamless structural implementation, and a pivotal blueprint for transitioning from concept to execution.
Style Guide
Before diving into prototyping, we collaboratively crafted a style guide to uphold design consistency, infusing a vibrant and cheerful aesthetic to harmonize with the animal theme.
Final Prototype
Sign up & Verification
First time users need to create an account
Phone verification process for fraud prevention
Match with pets near you
Swipe cards design for rapid match
Start conversation using the "Paw" icon
Filter distance and breed
Scrolling progress bar at the bottom
Explore & follow cutie pets
Explore the trending posts in two-column view
Click each post to see details and like, save, comment on a post
Follow a user and see their posts
Share your own posts
Building profile for your pet
Create a profile for your pet and grow your audience
All of your post will be displayed as part of the profile
View saved and liked posts
Chat and hangout!
Start a conversation with a user
All conversations will be found in the Message Tab
If we have more time
Our team, made up entirely of UCSD college students, faced some challenges when some of our senior members graduated and can't continue mid-project. This made it difficult to keep new members on the same page, and unfortunately, we had to pause on our project when we hit the Beta version because of the absence of guidance. Given more time, I'd love to tackle this problem from the following aspects:
Documenting each step and decision in the design process as reference for future revamp
Establishing clear development specifications to facilitate smooth transitions
Creating reusable components library to maintain for consistency and efficiency.
While it's unfortunate that our project didn't come to life, every moment we spent building it together was incredibly rewarding. From the excitement of recruiting and chatting with pet owners to the thrill of diving into competitive analysis on other apps, and the constructive teamwork during in-team design critiques, each step brought us closer as designers, collaborators, and friends.