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The House Of Bow Meow App.
UX Research | UX Design | Visual Prototype | 2022
01
My Story
This is a design exercise that I performed when enrolled in a UX/UI course. So I chose the activity that allowed me to demonstrate the largest range of my abilities while also aligning with my own interests. I'm presenting a case study and designing an experience where individuals can find and adopt pets, as well as find recourses for pet care and adoption process.
Client - Project for Practice (No Client)
My Role - UX/UI Designer
Timeline - 5 Weeks , November 2022
Tools - Adobe XD, Photoshop, Principle, Paper-Pen-Pencil
Responsibilities - Conducting interviews, paper and digital wireframing, low and high-fidelity prototyping, conducting usability studies, accounting for accessibility, iterating on designs, determining information architecture, and responsive design
Design Process
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02
The problem
In shelters and foster homes, there are currently countless animals eagerly waiting for adoption. So I plan to create an immersive experience that bridges the gap between individuals searching for a new pet and their perfect companion. My goal is to assist adopters in finding a pet that aligns with their lifestyle by considering factors like breed, gender, age, behavior, and health condition. Moreover, providing comprehensive resources on pet care and adoption, ensures that both the adopter and the animal have the support they need.
03
Goal
The primary purpose is to discover a good fit between a potential adopter and a pet. Assist prospective adopters in finding a pet that matches their lifestyle.Create a completely functioning, informative, and constantly updated application and responsive website listing all available pets. Make it as simple, straightforward, and comfortable as possible for potential adopters to view the dogs at a shelter
04
Understanding the user
● User research
● Personas
● Problem statements
● Competitive audit
● Ideation
User research: summary
Conducted user interviews to better understand the target user and their needs, which I eventually translated into empathy maps.
After doing research, it became evident that humans who wanted to adopt rescue animals preferred searching for pets online first to have access to a large range of pets and learn more about each.
These users also emphasized the necessity of having an easy way to arrange an appointment with a shelter online so they could view creatures in person. Because shelters are sometimes understaffed and may not always have someone answering the phone, the installation of an online appointment booking system would make the process easier for both pet adopters and shelters.
Who Are The Users
The House of Bow Meow's major target users is college students and adults who are interested in learning more about rescue pets and adopting them.
Users: Users who already have a pet and are looking for a second one, as well as users who are adopting their pet for the first time.
Shelters: Who wants their pets to be adopted.
Personas
I created four user personas based on the user interviews and survey to help make design decisions:
![Google UX Design Certificate - Persona [Template]_page-0004.jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/788b9a_8c99f6748b5049d88d18da7702534370~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_864,h_486,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/Google%20UX%20Design%20Certificate%20-%20Persona%20%5BTemplate%5D_page-0004.jpg)
![Google UX Design Certificate - Persona [Template]_page-0003.jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/788b9a_0860a935fd0e4994b386195b14a3967e~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_864,h_486,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/Google%20UX%20Design%20Certificate%20-%20Persona%20%5BTemplate%5D_page-0003.jpg)
![Google UX Design Certificate - Persona [Template]_page-0002.jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/788b9a_2c3766aca275493394a8df29bafa1d36~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_864,h_486,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/Google%20UX%20Design%20Certificate%20-%20Persona%20%5BTemplate%5D_page-0002.jpg)
![Google UX Design Certificate - Persona [Template]_page-0001.jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/788b9a_96905680e81b4b4ea6aed19662cfa8e2~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_873,h_491,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/Google%20UX%20Design%20Certificate%20-%20Persona%20%5BTemplate%5D_page-0001.jpg)
Problem statements
Problem statement: Joseph is a busy professional and a cat lover who needs information about the breed available for adoption because he can't discover the ideal pet to fit his lifestyle without the relevant information.
Problem statement: Nivetha is a Productive, busy professional and a dog lover who needs information about the well-being of shelter pets while adopting because don't have to worry about the behaviour or the health of the dog.
Problem statement: Maya is a Web developer who recently relocated to a new city Who needs a friendly cat that is well-behaved and healthy because adjusts to a new city with a friendly companion.
Pain Points
I want to make it easy for individuals to adopt shelter animals. The issue is that individuals continue to buy from stores rather than adopt from shelters. Because they lack enough resources and assistance regarding adoption and their procedure. Users believe that restraining dogs are harmed and have behavioural issues.
Solution
Help and support people in finding the appropriate pet for them.
Dispel myths about shelters and shelter animals.
Providing as many resources as possible on pet adoption and pet care.
Conducting training events for users.
User Journey Map
I created a user journey map of Nivetha experience using the site to help identify possible pain points and improvement opportunities.
Competitive audit
An audit of a few competitors’ products provided direction on gaps and opportunities to address with The House Of Bow Meow App and Responsive website.
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 Pet adoption resources and simple adoption process.
05
Starting the design
● Paper wireframes
● Digital wireframes
● Low-fidelity prototype
● Usability study
Paper wireframes
Next, I sketched out paper wireframes for each screen on my App, keeping the user's pain points about navigation, browsing, and Booking flow in mind. The home screen paper wireframe variations to the right focus on optimizing the browsing experience for users.
Digital wireframes
After ideating and drafting some paper wireframes, I created the initial designs for The House Of Bow Meow app. These designs focus on delivering guidance to users to help their ideal pet.
Low-fidelity prototype
To prepare for usability testing, I created a low-fidelity prototype that connected the user flow of viewing pets and resources.
View
Usability study
Parameters
Study Type - Unmoderated usability study
Location - India, remote
Participants - 7 participants
Length - 30-60 minutes
Usability study: findings
These were the main findings uncovered by the usability study:
1
Adoption Process
People want easy process and paperwork for booking appointment and for the adoption.
2
Resources
Users are requested to provide valuable information on the start, so to find what they are looking easier.
3
Notification and Confirmation.
Users wants a detail confirmation and the process history in the separate page.
06
Refining the design
● Brand Identity
● Mockups
● High-fidelity prototype
● Accessibility
Brand Identity
Home
Dog Sound
Cat Sound
Logo
Mockups
High-fidelity prototype
View
Accessibility considerations
01
Providing an AI Assistant for interactive user query and help.
02
The initial focus of the home screen on personalized recommendations help define the primary task or action for the user.
03
I used headings with different sized text for clear visual hierarchy
07
Onboarding screen
Splash Screen and & Landing Page
Registration
Questionnaries
Homepage & Categories
Search & Filter
Favourites
Notification
Schedule an appoinment
Petbot Chat
User Account & Profile
A brief overview of what the app offer.
Verification via mobile phone number and permissions for a better experience
There is an option where you can take questionnarie and answer some questions to find the ideal companion that fits you.
You can browse for pets based on recommendations or by category.
To find the right pet, you can use the homepage filter or the search option.
You can add favourite pets to a separate page so you can go back and look at them.
You will be notified about pet-related alerts, events, questionnaires, appointments, and status updates.
Make an appointment to find your ideal pet using a simple process.
Petbot for the rescue. Petbot will assist you with your inquiries.
The account gives you access to the app's resources, and in your user profile, you can change your phone number and address.
08
UI Style Guide
09
Conclusion
I had a lot of fun designing a website that encourages people to adopt dogs rather than buy them from breeders. I was able to design an app where people can find a dog that matches their lifestyle, personality, and needs by talking to real people about their experiences, goals, and frustrations.
I was excited not because it was groundbreaking or particularly cool, but because it serves as a milestone in my personal development. Though it is still only a concept, the process and iterations have made significant contributions.Oh, the joys of learning and growth.
It has taught me the value of thinking critically and designing experiences with a purpose for people. A lesson I actively strive to instil in every product I touch.
10
Takeaways
Impact
Venkatesh
Users shared that the app made pet adoption seem like something they could actually use. One quote from peer feedback was that the house of bow meow app helps bring caring about the rescue pets to a personal level in a way that’s easy and engaging.”
What I learned
I learned that even though the problem I was trying to solve was a big one, diligently going through each step of the design process and aligning with specific user needs helped me come up with solutions that were both feasible and useful.
A broader scope entails more challenges:
Because this was my first project in which I was involved in the design aspects, I quickly realized that previous problems that I had encountered and became comfortable solving in user research were not necessarily identical to the problems that arose in this UX design project.
Iteration:
The more you iterate on sketches, the more time you save and the better your ideas become.
11
Next steps
Conduct research on how successful the app is in reaching the goal to increase pet adoption..
Add more educational resources for users to learn about pet care and adoption process.
Let’s connect!
Design a Responsive wesite for The House Of Bow Meow.
Thank you for your time reviewing my work on The House Of Bow Meow app! If you’d like to see more or would like to get in touch, my contact information is provided below.
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