Introduction

Adopting a dog through the Internet is frustrating. There are a limited number of mobile applications a person could use when trying to find a dog. Through user research, I determined that there was a lack of mobile applications available. Roughly 2.7 million dogs and cats each year die in shelters. I designed K9Pal to help people give those dogs a fighting chance.

Defining the Problem

After performing user interviews, conducting surveys, and analyzing competitors, I determined why people were having trouble finding dogs online. Many online advertisements or dog finder websites were missing key pieces of information that made many uncomfortable to pursue further.

Research results: Many people wanted to avoid puppy mill dogs, and it was difficult to find the source. Others wanted to make appointments online and reschedule if issues arose. Some people were hesitant because they could not view the medical history of a dog they liked online.

People Who Are Looking to Adopt Dogs

Research suggested that people who already owned pets wanted to adopt another pet. Primarily those who were looking to adopt were single and between the ages 25-34 years old. There was a significant amount of people who said they liked the idea of looking for dogs on their phone, even if it was just to only see the pictures. 

Competitive Analysis

There were several mobile applications available for the public to use. I downloaded the highest rated applications and did a heuristic evaluation. I created a comparison sheet to see if there were any missing features users may need.

Walking in the Users Shoes

It was important to design main features that the user would accomplish. I spent time going through the user journey and writing out task flows for key features such as: viewing available dogs, contacting dog owners, and changing notification preferences.

Designing the Application

Once research, task flows, and the site map was created, I was able to work on sketches. I tested a series of sketches using Marvel to get users feedback. Based on the feedback and some iteration, I was able to create wireframes to test how the flow of the application and layouts were.

Creating the Mood

I wanted to give the application a cheerful and fun tone to it. So I designed a mood board that would incorporate some friendly colors and the mood that I wanted. Afterwards, I created mockups and a prototype. I then used the prototype to test and iterate upon based on user feedback.

The Results

I enjoyed designing the concept and believe that people should be able to adopt dogs online without worrying. This application is purely a design and has not been built, but feedback from many people who used the prototype said they wished this application was around before they adopted their first pet. Overall it was a fun project to work on.

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