Dogsperts: Easy Access to Expert Care
Dog Care Application
Dogsperts is an application where you can easily access expert care for your beloved dog. There are a lot of dog walkers and caretakers out there, but how do you know your dog will receive the expert care they deserve?
For this project, the primary task was to create an application that connects dog owners with dog walkers/caretakers. The problem to be solved was finding how to help dog owners trust that their dogs are in safe hands. Dogsperts is an application prototype that was designed to solve this, providing users with easy access to vetted dog experts in their area.
The final prototype is a result of following fundamental product design processes including user research, building user flows, and prototyping.
User Research
After conducting market research, a series of interviews with different users were conducted in order to gain insights into the user's needs, goals, limitations, and problems. The user interviews validated that dog owners seek the peace of mind that their dogs will receive quality care when they are not with them.
Following the interviews, personas were created to help drive decision-making and communicate research findings. Through the interviews and persona-building, it was determined that trustworthiness and expertise would be the driving forces when building the product experience.
User Flows and Wireframes
Next, a user flow was mapped out bringing the user from the moment of downloading the application to completing their user profile. Getting the user to their desired endpoint through a straightforward but flexible path was the main priority. Sometimes users have different goals in mind. For example, if the user felt they wanted to see the available dog caretakers before finishing their profile, that option should be provided.
The sign-up flow was then used to sketch out and build wireframes. While designing the wireframes, elements like ratings, skill badges, and reviews were prioritized to make sure users could focus on finding a walker they trust.
User Interface
Through researching color psychology a clear path in branding was set. The research established that blue promotes trust and dependability. And indigo's relation to devotion and helping others gives it a deep quality that transmits wisdom and authority. Blue-Indigo, the ultimate color chosen for Dogsperts, embodies the mission of helping users find dog experts that they can trust to care for their dogs.
In addition, dogs are enthusiastic, energetic, and loving companions. The orange accent color, along with the whimsical illustrations, incorporate the fun nature of dogs into the brand.
Prototype
The final step was using this established look and feel in a user onboarding prototype. The process of implementing the UI included the creation of a component library to ensure brand consistency and scalability.
