Pawmily
Project: Pawmily
Role: UX Designer
UI/UX Case Study
Website and app design for Pawmily
Project Overview
The Goal
The Problem
Design an app and a responsive website for Pawmily that would help people adopt pets through an easy application and scheduling process.
Animal adoption is not given much attention in most countries. Some people prefer to choose pets with particular breeds, so they would instead buy from a breeder or a pet store rather than adopt one. Pawmily has identified a lack of awareness of the importance of pet adoption and the impact it creates in society.
The Product
An app and a website for Pawmily, which enables users to browse pets to adopt, schedule, and apply for pet adoption.
My Role
Design Process
Pawmily is an application that offers an easy and efficient way in adopting pets. Pawmily strives to inform and encourage people about the benefits of adopting pets through its fast and straightforward application and scheduling process. Pawmily’s primary target users include current pet owners or potential adopters who are interested in adopting or would want to learn more about pet adoption.
Understanding the User
User Research
Summary
I conducted interviews and created empathy maps to understand the users I’m designing for and their needs. One primary user group identified through research was potential first-time pet owners who would like to adopt given their lack of knowledge and experience in adopting pets. A secondary user group identified as current pet owners who would like to expand their existing pet family.
These two user groups confirmed initial assumptions about Pawmily customers, but research also revealed that most people are not well informed or are not interested in pet adoption because of the lack of awareness when it comes to these topics. Pet adoption, in general, can also be time-consuming so it hinders them from finding suitable pets in shelters, etc.
“ I've always loved having pets since I was a child. They give me so much happiness.”
Name: Jane
Age: 27
Occupation: Content Marketing Manager
Jane is a busy content marketing manager who currently owns two dogs and a cat. Regardless if she is busy or not, she makes sure that her pets are well-fed and well-taken care of. She has always been an animal advocate and does care about animal rights a lot. Jane also thinks that adopting pets is far better than buying them in pet shops. She would like an app that could let her adopt a new pet and locate other local animal lovers as well.
Personas
An audit of a few competitors' products provided direction on gaps and opportunities to address with the Pawmily app and website.
Click to view the full competitive audit and audit report.
Name: Bret
Age: 34
Occupation: IT Support
“ I am looking for a new addition to the family. I've heard a lot of good things about being a fur parent.”
Bret is an IT support specialist, a husband, and a dad of two daughters. His children have been asking him persistently to adopt a dog and after some long contemplation, decides to adopt one as an addition to the family. Bret did not have any experience in taking care of a pet before but he only heard good things about being a parent of one. He wants to adopt one from a rescue center or shelter but is not sure what kind would fit him and his family. He wants a pet-related app or website that lets them easily adopt a dog and notify him about important information regarding the adoption process.
Competitive Audit
Ideation
I did a quick ideation exercise to come up with ideas for how to address gaps identified in the competitive audit. My focus was specifically on searching for a pet and listing available pets near the user’s location.
Starting the Design
Digital Wireframes
After ideating and drafting some paper wireframes, I created initial designs for the Pawmily app. These designs focused on finding a pet by either using the search function or browsing through categories. Suggested pets near the user’s location are also included for easier and faster browsing.
Low-fidelity Prototype
To prepare for usability testing, I created a low-fidelity prototype that connected the user flow of finding a pet, filling up an application form, and scheduling the adoption date.
Usability Study
Parameters
Study Type
Unmoderated usability study
Participants
10 participants
Location
Length
Philippines, remote
20-30 minutes
Findings
These were the main findings uncovered by the usability study:
Location
People want a range limit based on the user’s location
Read Section
Application Form
People would like to have a read section that would be beneficial in giving more awareness of adoption
People preferred a calendar-type clickable option on the appointment date field and an additional option of reservation of pet
Refining the Design
Mockups
Based on the insights from the usability studies, I applied design changes like incorporating a range limit based on the user’s location and adding a read section on the home page.
Additional design changes include adding a “Reserve for 24 hours” option and incorporating a calendar-type clickable option in the Appointment Date field.
Key Mockups
High-fidelity Prototype
The high-fidelity prototype followed the same user flow as the low-fidelity prototype, including design changes made after the usability study.
Accessibility Considerations
01
Provided a speech recognition feature in the easy search function for users who have mobility impairments to use.
02
03
04
Used icons and labels to help make navigation easier.
Provided access to users who are visually impaired by adding alt text to images for screen readers.
Used detailed imagery for pets to help users better decide on which pet to adopt.
Responsive Design
Information Architecture
Sitemap
With the app designs completed, I started working on designing the responsive website. I used the Pawmily sitemap as a guide to the organizational structure of each screen’s design to ensure a cohesive and consistent experience across devices.
Responsive Design
The designs for screen size variation included mobile, tablet, and desktop. I optimized the designs to fit the specific user needs of each device and screen size.
Mockups
Going Forward
Takeaways
Impact
Users shared that the app encourages more people to adopt pets and is effective in sharing awareness of pet adoption in general.
One quote from peer feedback:
" The app is very straightforward and makes the process of pet adoption easier. The app helps spread awareness about pet adoption effectively. ”
What I learned
Going through the process from research to wireframes to final iterations taught me a lot about what first-time pet adopters were looking for. User testing of the high-fidelity prototype showed that most of the users could easily search and browse for a specific dog, and schedule an in-person appointment with them quickly. Each step of the design process helped me come up with solutions that were both useful and feasible in aligning with each specific user's needs.
Next Steps
Conduct another round of usability studies to validate whether the pain points users experienced have been effectively addressed.
Add more educational resources for users to learn more about pet adoption.
Conduct more research on how successful the app is in raising awareness of pet adoption.
Style Guide
Logo
Colors
Type
Buttons
