CityPups

A UI/UX Case Study
By Molly Cox
September 2022

Project Overview

The Challenge:

This project was a 5 day design sprint, and I followed the Google Ventures method. The design challenge I chose to work on is called CityPups, and their mission is to help people living in cities find the perfect dog to adopt.

The problem I set out to solve is that people living in cities struggle to find the right dog to adopt due to their unique needs.

Solo design an end-to-end user experience for city dwellers looking to adopt a dog.

Tell us what you consider when looking for a dog to adopt

• “Photos are definitely the first thing I notice or make a connection with. From there, I think about more practical stuff, like how big the dog is, and how much indoor space they need - I have a pretty small apartment so I want to make sure it will be a good home for them.” - Maria

• “I look at the basic info - size, age, etc. Photos and ‘bios’ are so great to get an idea of the dog’s personality. Some things are harder to figure out - like how much attention the dog needs. I would need a dog that could be left home for a while if I’m at work or get home late due to my commute.” - Dan

• “A lot of sites tell you if the dog is ‘good around other dogs’. I think this generally means other dogs in the household - but what about dogs in public? In my neighborhood, I would walk them on the street and in dog parks with LOTS of other animals. I’d want to know that they would be okay with that.” - Anna

• “ I like to see lots of photos - or even better, videos! They help create an instant connection, and it’s a little easier to see how big they are, get a feel for their energy level, and imagine if my small apartment would be a good home for them.” - Anthony

• “I want to know how comfortable and trained the dog is when traveling or moving around the city. I definitely need a pup who is ok riding the train with me, around a lot of other people and distractions.” - Lindsey

• “ I usually look for smaller dogs since I don’t have a ton of room - but, sometimes smaller breeds need the most space - so, I end up falling in love with a little dog that really needs more space to live and play than I can offer :(“ - Ron

• “I generally look for older dogs - I usually assume they are more well-trained - but that’s not always the case. Really , I want to find a dog that is comfortable walking with me in the city ,and won’t get freaked out by all the people, pigeons, and things to do!” - Silvia

• “I would never want to adopt a dog that needed more activity or space than I could provide. I try to find breeds that are generally less hyper, but it all really depends on the personality of the dog.” - Sara

• “I live with two roommates - they’re cool with me having a dog, but it’s REALLY important to me that I find a dog who is comfortable with new people being around ,and coming into our home.” - Margaret

• “I have called and visited shelters before - speaking to someone and describing my lifestyle, schedule, and space is really helpful - but it takes a long time, especially if you want to inquire about multiple dogs.” - Lauren

Interviews:

Joe and Jennifer
- Successes/pain points/frustrations/priorities/considerations
- Lives with her bf in a small apartment (needs to be small, not yappy bc apartment, needs to be okay with other dogs on walks
- First selected dog and entered postal code. Distance defaulted to 25 mi and she said that was a lot for manhattan. She doesn’t have a car so finding a dog close by is ideal so she doesn’t have to pay for a rental car
- All dogs that popped up were big pitbulls (might be nice to filter at the top)
- How to balance connection (he’s cute) with the practical things she needs to consider (size, breed, etc) She thinks the info included in the description is really important. Generic facts like sex, size, weight, breed, and age are important.
- What does she look for when reading a dog’s bio? Just a little bit of info about the dog - missing potty training and temperament info. Location was in TX and that means she couldn’t meet him before he was flown to NY. She’s not comfortable choosing the dog due to lack of info.
- Age
- Health issues
- Temperament
- Good w/ other dogs/animals
- Good with children
- Energy level (walked 4 times per day or okay to be left alone while working)
Likes dog profiles that have videos attached (likes to see if they can play fetch, and also likes that this provides validation that the dog is real and not photoshopped). Like a dating profile.

Persona:

Ellie, 27 years old, NYC

• Behavior:

  Lives alone in a studio apartment in NYC. Now that she does not have roommates, she finally feels “ready” for the responsibility, and companionship of a dog.
  She follows some adoption agencies on IG and even “saves” some dogs she wants to adopt.
  She has spoken to adoption agency representatives to ask questions. This has been helpful, but is very time consuming to find the right contact, or make an appointment.
  She asks friends, and people in her building who have dogs for advice, so she can get some info from people that are closer to her situation.

• Frustrations:
  Hasn’t taken action because she doesn’t feel 100% confident that a dog will be a good fit for her AND the dog.
  Most adoption sites focus on making a connection between people and dogs. This is great for browsing, bit it often leads to her falling in love with a dog that needs more space, attention, or activity than she can provide. This leads to disappointment and more indecision.
  Descriptions of dogs on sites are too general - for example, it may say “this dog doesn’t require a lot of space” - but how small is too small?

• Goals:
  She wants to feel confident that they will be a great fit for each other - both in emotional connection, and practical factors related to her lifestyle.

Existing companies lack a lot of valuable info that users need to make a comfortable decision to adopt a dog. My job is not to reinvent the wheel, but to expand upon services that already exist. I want to create a platform that provides users all of the info they need plus a little bit more to ensure they know exactly what they’re getting into when looking at a dog to adopt. I determined that users looking to adopt dogs value as much information about the dog as possible along with plenty of visuals. Some of the things I plan to focus on are ways to incorporate videos of the dogs and more specific info like temperament, age, and energy level. Location services will also be refined as most users who live in cities either don’t have cars or can’t find time to travel far on public transportation.

Now that I’ve laid the ground work and have a good understanding of CityPup’s mission and my users, I’m ready to begin the design sprint.

I conducted two solo lightening demos to see how similar companies approached the problem I’m working to solve. I referenced adoptapet.com and petfinder.com for this exercise and created some crazy 8 sketches of potential solutions from there.

Day 1:

Reviewed the existing research on the problem and mapped out the steps a user would take while using your project to achieve their goal.

I close one of these screens to be my critical screen, and adding two additional screens to create my solution sketch. My critical screen is the one that users will use to filter for their dog preferences/needs. This information is super important to users who are interested in adopting a dog because it helps narrow down the search to assure the dogs that they’re looking at will be a perfect match. Including as many variables as possible is best, and is something I found that many similar sites don’t offer.

Now it was time to create a storyboard. I based this off of my solution sketch because I felt like it was the best solution. My storyboard contains the first three screens from my solution sketch + three additional screens the user will use to view additional photos or videos of the dog. The last screen is a duplicate of screen 3 but this would be where the user chooses the “Adopt” button to begin the process of adopting their fur-ever friend!

Day 4:

It’s almost time to test with users, but first I have to build a realistic facade, aka, my prototype! My prototype includes five screens that allow the user to search for dogs based on their location and then filter by their personal preferences. The prototyping process was smooth and much less stressful than those needed for full projects. When it comes time to test the prototype my goals are to make sure that I’ve included enough filter options for users to feel like they aren’t wasting time when they start browsing. My goal is to lessen the stress that future adopters feel while looking for the perfect dog to adopt.

Day 5:

Now it was time to test the prototype. I conducted one round of ACT interviews with 5 users. The users were all fellow UI/UX design students via Zoom and they all gave me some valuable feedback. The overall interview process was easy and we didn’t run into any roadblocks. Some of the patterns I noticed based on their feedback is that they can all appreciate the descriptive paragraphs of info on Morty’s page, but would also like to have an “at a glance” section where they can quickly view important characteristics. I also received some feedback about my filters that I’d like to implement - adding filters for hypoallergenic, energy level, and separating medical care out of the existing behavior filter. The last bit of feedback I received is that it is easy and straightforward to access photos and videos, however, it would be easier if they were already displayed on the dog’s profile (maybe as thumbnails below the main profile image). Something that wasn’t a pattern, but rather a suggestion that I’d like to implement, is adjusting the font size in a few places. I want to be sure the text on my site can be read easily so I plan to spend some time implementing this change as well. I used the feedback I received to update my prototype.

Click HERE to view final designs.

I enjoyed the fast pace journey of completing this design sprint. The format of this process really helped me focus on the solution, and the quick deadline helped me stay focused and not get too carried away with the smaller details. Working on desktop views presents many different challenges than the mobile view, and I believe I still have a lot to learn about how to keep the UI clean and clutter free, while also making it appear professional and polished. I’m excited to keep learning!