Pet Adoption Website

The Overarching Challenge

I wanted to create an inviting digital space for people to create an initial connection with an animal and build trust in an organization.

Understanding the Problem Space

Secondary Research: I conducted research to learn about national and local animal shelters and associations. As non-profits, many are focused on education and collecting donations. In terms of their sites, they all seemed focused on curating a personal connection between the user and the pets.  

Primary Research: I conducted one-on-one user interviews over Zoom with five participants with the following characteristics: 29-33 years old, female, pet owners. I asked questions based on the process of getting their pets as well as their experiences as owners.  

Challenge: Many participants didn’t utilize websites very much during the pet adoption process, so I didn’t get a lot of insight into that particular experience. However, I was able to focus on the emotional experiences that were important to them in order to define the central user experience of my site. I also relied a lot on my secondary research and design trends when making choices for site design.

Persona

Defining the Problem

Problem statements

Users need to interact with a site that allows them to make, or begin to make, an emotional connection with their pet.

Users need to interact with a site that generates a sense of trust and long-term support.

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Creating Solutions

Site Map and Flows

I created a feature roadmap focused on what I would need for the MVP. I also created task flows and user flows. The below user flows show the paths of a first time and second time user.

Branding

Based on research, I wanted to create a brand that felt personalized, intuitive, trustworthy, and caring. I chose a bold color palette and typefaces that were both warm and professional. When dealing with images, I wanted it to feel as if the pet was reaching past the boundaries of the individual frames as well as the screen to create a very personalized experience.

UI Pages

Prototype

Test

I conducted usability testing with five users in my key demographic to understand if there was any friction in the process of searching for a pet and getting pre-approved to adopt it.

Results summary

• 5/5 of participants completed both parts of the task.
• 5/5 of participants reported that the task was straightforward.  
• 4/5 participants utilized the search bar on the landing page
• 4/5 participants utilized filters on the search results page.  
• 3/5 participants encountered issues of low severity when utilizing the initial search bar.  
• The time to complete the task ranged from 1:10 to 3 minutes.

Priority Edits : as there were some low-severity issues surrounding the initial search bar, these elements should be better labeled.

Final Thoughts

I really enjoyed this project as it allowed me freedom in branding choices. I wanted to maintain a very personalized, intuitive feel while also infusing an edge of professionalism and trustworthiness. This project challenged me from a visual design perspective, and I will take this enthusiasm for visual experimentation into future projects.