Rethinking Pet Ownership
Empowering pet owners with the knowledge to become even better pet guardians.
Duration:
10 Weeks
Platform:
Mobile, iOS
UX Designer
Role:
Figma, Invision, Procreate, Notion, Pen & Paper
Tools:
This was a diploma capstone project, focusing on reducing the phenomenon known as empathy fatigue among veterinarians.
Research
The Problem
The increase in pet ownership skyrocketed during the pandemic, due to a multitude of reasons, and the lack of awareness regarding preventative care in the general population of pet owners has increased with it. This isn’t helped by the shortage of veterinarians in BC.
When exploring the problem space, I interviewed both pet owners and veterinarians, and surmised that owners are starved of knowledge. From the time before they get their pet, to the first time they visit a vet, and the subsequent visits afterwards.
Room for Design Intervention
Research
Using this quantitative and qualitative research, I came up with the statement:
"How might we improve the knowledge afforded to pet owners, so that they can take better care of their pets?"
"I believe that by providing a tool to combat lack of awareness around pet ownership, and improving communication between vets and owners, will see a decrease in empathy fatigue in veterinarians.
I'll know I'm right when I see a 20% decrease in veterinarians reporting burnout."
This led me to a hypothesis statement;
In order to steer the design in the appropriate direction and keep the end user always in sight, it was necessary to develop a persona. The research provided me with substantial information to create this artefact.
To influence my design further, I needed to visualise this user’s current journey, and so I developed an experience map that plotted what a pet owner experiences at the vet practice. This enabled me to pinpoint some potential design interventions.
Research
Balance
I wanted to balance simplicity, trust, and usefulness. With the help of the valuable artifacts I had created, including an agile manifesto, I began developing a task flow for my design, narrowing down what actions and features were crucial and most beneficial to the end user.
Design
Sketching
This task flow laid the foundations of my design. I researched UI, and began to sketch and ideate, coming up with the visual architecture of my solution. All the while keeping my end user in mind; focussing on ease of use, simplicity, and trustworthiness.
Design
Low Fidelity Prototype
Design
Testing
To test the strength of my design, I put the first prototype through a round of user testing and found that there were some issues, specifically surrounding where the user would find information about specific ailments.
Design
Iterate
I revised the architecture of the prototype, and tested again. The second round of testing revealed a need for even more information about upcoming appointments, and empowering the user with even more knowledge.
Design
Design Priority
I streamlined the redesign process using the design prioritisation matrix, and developed the prototype further. I tested again, this time achieving the desired outcome, and started the next step in the design process: the brand identity. After extensive sketching and ideation, Pawpal came into existence.
Design
Brand Identity
Pawpal is a trustworthy, inspiring, knowledgable, refreshingly calm solution.
Design
Wordmark
After plenty of experimentation with fonts and weights for the wordmark, I went back to my sketches and started to finesse a hand-drawn logo. The hand-drawn feel exuded much of what I want the brand to embody for the user.
Design
UI Colours and Type
The purpose of the app is to erase the barrier between owners and the knowledge they crave, and in turn help them care for their pets more effectively. The choice of strong, complimentary colours, simple UI, and easy to digest typography pushed the design firmly in this direction, emphasising simplicity and minimalism.
Design
Accessibility
As the end user could potentially be anyone that has a pet, the need for an accessible design was paramount. As such, all the colours in the app pass at least the AA standard of contrast, while the most important and prominent colours pass the AAA standard.
Design
Prototype
This interactive prototype allows the user to look up information on ailements relevant to their pet, view their past appointment notes, change their upcoming appointment, and view other useful information relvant to their pet.
Marketing
Marketing Campaign
To further expand the project, I developed a marketing website for both mobile and desktop, to advertise Pawpal's features and benefits to pet owners.
External Prototype Link
Alternate Platform
On the vet side
To explore the other side of this solution, I looked at the vet side, specifically the interface they would use to input the information for owners post appointment. This was a fun experiment, and something that will be explored further in the future.
In Summary
Pawpal
Pawpal is an easy to use, informative, trustworthy app, that understands that pets are members of the family, and should be treated as such. It allows users to keep up to date with their pet’s health, and access vital information to help them take care of their pet more effectively.
With the use of Pawpal, pet owners will be more educated and better informed, and their pets will benefit greatly. This in turn will reduce the pressure on Veterinarians, and serve to reduce empathy fatigue.
Learnings
What did this project teach me?
This was an incredibly valuable project in the development on my skills as a UX Designer. It is the culmination of 10 weeks work during the UX Design Diploma program at BrainStation. I was given the opportunity to choose my own problem space, so I was able to choose something that meant a lot to me.
During the research I was taken aback by the startling numbers of vets affected by empathy fatigue and the depression levels. While interviewing, it was valuable to see the similarities between pet owners and veterinarians, emphasising with both users, and leading my clear ideas for design intervention.
I am thankful that I was able to work on this solution to a very real problem, and design a very useful and easy to use app. The critical feedback received throughout the process was invaluable, and the iterative process benefitted from it to no end.
