The Pack
“The Pack is a
dog mentorship app…It’s similar to ADPlist but for dog owners!”
01 - Who Are We?
Owning a dog doesn’t get more real than this….
illustration for this storyboard by Hope Chung
“The pack’s Mission is for all dog owners to have a healthy, successful, lifelong, relationship, with their dogs!”
During the pandemic, many people found themselves adopting a dog to have as a companion.
Owners later realized that there were challenges and questions to raising a dog and needed advice.
Many dogs have been surrendered to dog shelters after we came out of the lockdown, which is a dilemma alot of shelters are facing. In many situations this could have been avoided if they had joined The Pack and had help on hand with their dog issues!
The Pack is a dog mentorship program that was created to provide a contactless way for a dog owner to connect one on one with a qualified mentor to help their needs with their dog, ranging from training, to pet care, to medical advise!
The Pack features a dog game, Basic Training, that is an interactive tool for parents and kids to play to learn the daily responsibilities that are associated with owning a pet.
02 - User Empathy
Research was done on existing and potential dog owners to find their pain points when looking for a dog, when researching for information on dog ownership, and what they would like to get out of an app that provides help with their concerns.
03 - Our Goal
What Do We Want To Achieve?
Design an app that is easy to navigate for both a qualified mentor applying to be a mentor as well as for a dog owner to easily find a mentor that meets their needs. This app needs to:
Speak to all age groups.
Feature UI elements, clear hierarchy, layouts, colors, and images that are visually appealing. It’s important to have imagery that is styled to be fun in a sophisticated way without getting childish and stay brand right.
Create an app that shows the fun side of the company, appealing to qualified professional mentors to apply to and be a part of, and appealing to customers to sign up with The Pack and be repeat customers.
Create a dog game, Basic Training, associated with the app that is interactive with the user. It allows parents to play the game with their kids that want to own a dog and shows the real day to day tasks that entails owning a dog.
04 - Identifying Problems
Empathy Map
An empathy map was created to capture the concerns, questions, feelings, and expectations of a first time pet owner.
The empathy map is based on:
the data obtained from qualitative research
Insight from interviewing seasoned and and first time pet owners
our own assumptions
Our goals were to:
establish common ground among team members
identify user needs and pain points
identify opportunities
Based on the paint points established, It was concluded the solution was to build an experience that provides access to discuss the pains and questions associated with dog ownership and get help and answers from a professional.
Competitive Analysis
The Pack differentiates itself from current animal apps on the market by specifically focusing on helping dog owners connect with a certified professional trained in their area/s of need.
Wag
Offers digital/in-person training and consultation services
Wide range of services
Lengthy Onboarding (13 steps)
Premium discounts
Can purchase or gift “Wag credits”
Rover
User can explore app without creating an account
Clean UI
Providers can set their own prices
Limited services
PetDesk
Puts the user in contact with providers based on location
Allows the user to contact, book appointments, or visit the providers website through the app
To-do list and notifications
05 - Design
Workflows
A mentors path was created as well as a dog owner path for our users. For the first phase of development we focused on mentors applying to The Pack with their credentials.
In the next phase of the app’s initiatives, a path was developed connecting dog owners to mentors that match their needs. Customers will be able to book continued sessions with their mentors.
Prototyping & Interactions
The paper sketches and prototypes ensured The Pack’s layout, usability, and content were well planned and thought out. Consistency in layout, navigation, and visuals made it user friendly and easy to navigate.
UI Design Elements
The Pack’s brand is intended to be fun, personable, and quirky. Unique styled photography and imagery is used and graphic elements incorporated into the graphics are intended to be eye catching while executed in a sophisticated manner.
Earthy color tones were selected for the color palette in order to make navigating through the site calm and easy on the eyes.
06 - Testing
Demographics
The Pack’s app was tested on various age groups ranging from early 20s to 60’s in order to get feed back from diverse age groups and backgrounds. Testing was done on people that already owned dogs as well as people that didn’t…but wanted to get a dog.
The goal of the user tests was to better understand the usability of the app, and to make sure navigating it was successful and straightforward.
Specialization View
User Problem:
The initial design of the specialization page was sporadic and there were no clear instructions to navigate this screen.
The layout was reworked to incorporate illustrations but this took the brand to a childish look and feel, which was not brand right for this company.
Our Solutions:
On the final layout, quirky styled photography was used that represented the link making sure it was clear to the user they were selecting the correct speciality link.
A search bar was added with a caption with instructions making it clear to the user they can easily search and choose their specializations.
Calendar View
User Problem:
On the initial calendar screens it was not clear which days the mentor had set as available to the user
Our Solutions:
The color of the days the mentor is available was muted.
The available times are designed as their own button making it clear to the mentor what time they are selecting
What Did We Learn?
User testing was an eye opener:
Testing revealed the gaps in our screens and the information architecture and artifacts that had to be reworked when prototyping for successful user navigation.
User testing brought awareness to what was missing and misleading on the front-end of our screens to the end user. This brought to light what needed to be refined and validated in our designs.
Changes are inevitable - This brought awareness that as designers we have to be flexible and open minded to receiving feedback and criticism to ensure the pains and gains are identified to improve user performance and satisfaction.
07 - Finalized Screens
Login Screens
Mentor Screens
Dog Owner Screens
The Tail End…
There is a saying…
“A dog will love you more than it loves itself!”
…Make sure you love your dog back equally!”
Quote by Josh Billings
Photography Credits:
Pexels.com - Anna Shvets, Andrew Neel, Dominika Roseclay, Zen Chung, Sampson Katt, PNW Production, Adres Ayrton, Noelle Otto, Lum3n, Kasuma, Sam Lion, Anastasiya Vragova, Bluebird, Mikhail Nilov, Nishizuka, Erik Mclean, Arthouse Studio