Background

I am a digital Product Manager who loves solving user challenges through design.

I wanted to enhance my product skills with formal product design training, so I enrolled in Dribbble's Product Design course in Winter/Spring 2022.

During the course, I learned how to design digital applications start-to-finish and attained an intermediate-to-advanced level of Figma. My first project was a dog walking app.

Project Brief

Dog owners sometimes need help caring for and walking their dogs. Create a service to connect dog owners with dog walkers. Consider how we can help dog owners trust that their dogs are in safe hands.

My Process

I researched other dog walking apps on the market and interviewed 3 pet owners and 1 dog walker. The dog owners each noted problems with trust, poor transparency, and frequent walker churn.

The dog walker loves what she does, but the pay is not enough to sustain a career in dog walking. The pet owners I spoke with, however, would gladly pay a higher fee if they could rely on the same, professional dog walker on a recurring basis. This arrangement would also satisfy the concerns of the dog walkers, as they want to build a reliable stream of recurring income.

I set out to design a subscription service to satisfy both pet owner and walker alike, but ended up focusing on a few key screens and user flows to meet the needs of each week's assignment.

The result is a visual approach to the dog walker search, and better communication and transparency into each pet excursion.

Research, User Persona, Flows, & early sketches

I was surprised to find that many apps force users through profile set-up steps prior to letting them "inside." Two of the three of the apps that I signed up for made me set my search parameters and dog's profile first, only to find out that there were no dog walkers available in my vicinity.

The existing apps on the market didn't seem to serve my user persona well; that is - a busy, working professional with disposable income to devote to dog care services.

They don't have a lot of time to devote to finding pet care, especially in the high-turnover dog walker industry. They are frustrated by the lack of transparency and want to know every detail of the walker's visit. They are also frustrated by the carelessness from previous walkers leaving doors unlocked and not cleaning off muddy paws before letting the dog back in the house. 

What they really want is a dog-loving professional who can commit to regular services. Someone who has made a career out of dog care; like a dog nanny!

I set out to bring a more visual experience to the walker search function using a Zillow-like map + filter flow. Instead of setting up your search parameters in advance, users can immediate see what walkers are available in their vicinity and narrow down their results using a Boolean-based filter.

Wireframes

I named my app "Mary Puppins" in keeping with my persona's dog nanny theme. In these early wireframes I experimented with the sign-up flow, map search, walker profile, and other screens.

Visuals & Components

When designing the visuals, my goal was to portray a high-quality, professional service that feels exclusive and expensive. I was inspired by a popular daycare app and designed an activity log that provides real-time updates, photos, walking routes, bathroom activity, and more. Plus easy messaging between walker + owner.

A visual and interactive search experience is achieved with a map + filter function. The walker profile provides relevant information and client reviews to enhance trust.

I decided to take a different approach to the reservation experience and designed it as if-then-else questionnaire. This helps to reduce the "information overload" effect from having to select multiple reservation variables in one long screen. Instead, users walk through the reservation process in bite-sized chunks, one screen at a time.

I enjoyed experimenting with various illustration techniques in Figma in this alternative version of the sign-up flow.

I created a component library consisting of brand colors, menus and their variants, and various recurring screen elements to help me work smarter, not harder.

Outcome

Looking back, I would like to have built out the search filter screens, full reservation flow, and a subscription component. I would also like to build a 3-step onboarding screen and rebuild the signup screens to be less cluttered.

However, I believe the Care Log screen addresses 2 primary concerns that my user persona has and believe a subscription component could solve the 3rd concern (lack of commitment / high turn-over).

As is, I believe that a more visual and interactive search experience, a simple and multi-screen reservation questionnaire, and a detailed Care Log meets the needs of my busy user persona.