Overview

Paws Up is a dog care app designed to connect dog owners with individuals and businesses who provide dog walking, home visit, boarding, grooming and house sitting services. The goal of the project was to create an app that will facilitate the following.

Ensure Safety

Mandatory verification and background checks are required for all dog care providers. Owners will be assured of their dog’s well-being because every service provider on the app receives a verification icon. 

Improve Transparency & Trust

Only reviews from verified customers can be submitted on a provider’s profile.

Make Life a Little Easier

The app should enhance communication and reduce scheduling steps for owners and providers.

User Research

Unfortunately only a limited number of in-person interviews could be conducted for this project. This was supplemented by distributing a Google Form survey to family and friends and a total of 25 responses were received. The common themes among the majority of responses were:

• Dog owners experience significant stress when they leave their dogs alone. 

• Careers and busy lifestyles create situations when owners must leave their dogs alone on short notice.

• Trust and peace of mind are essential when leaving their dog with other people.

This feedback made it clear that reliability, transparency and trust must incorporated into the Paws Up app design and service. 

User Persona

Unfortunately only a limited number of in-person interviews could be conducted for this project. This was supplemented by distributing a Google Form survey to family and friends and a total of 25 responses were received. The common themes among the majority of responses were:

• Dog owners experience significant stress when they leave their dogs alone. 

• Careers and busy lifestyles create situations when owners must leave their dogs alone on short notice.

• Trust and peace of mind are essential when leaving their dog with other people.

This feedback made it clear that reliability, transparency and trust must incorporated into the Paws Up app design and service. 

User Flow

A basic diagram was created to visualize the individual steps a user will take when accessing the app. Using this, research from  existing competitor apps and knowledge gained from interviews it became possible to begin wire framing out Paws Up.

Wireframes

The benefits of wire framing seem to be endless. The ability to quickly layout various types of elements and pages before heading into visual design is a superpower. At this stage some bad ideas were eliminated and a plan was created.

Ideation and Exploration

Because this is an app for a nonexistent brand, many iterations of color, type, and even breed of dog were explored. A well designed app could end up unused if it does not include appealing font and color pairings. The below mockup best portrays this process.

Visual Design

Once color and font pairings were selected, layout and hierarchy eventually came together. Consistency and special attention to accessibility were my personal requirements to consider this project a success.

What I Learned

During this project and throughout Dribbble's Product Design course I learned how to appropriately approach app design, including many ways to increase efficiency and execute more effectively. Moderately strict adherence to the process ensures a successful outcome.

Thank you for taking a look at my project! I always appreciate feedback and I am happy to connect on LinkedIn.