Pawks is a mobile app that sniffs out ideal dog parks for the practical dog owner.
Solo Student Project for Springboard UI/UX Bootcamp
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5 months
Finding an ideal dog park is challenging for the modern day dog parent. With an increasing number of dog parks around the country, dog parents are faced with the grueling task of scouring multiple websites for a mish-mash of crucial information that results in a half painted picture and a less than ideal park experience. The challenge I undertook was to create a streamlined way to help dog parents search for dog parks that fit their specific needs.
My solution is a mobile app called ‘Pawks’ that redefines the way dog parents traditionally search for dog parks.
To truly empathize with dog owners and understand their pain points, I began my research with a screener survey in preparation for user interviews.
There was a clear divide on how people felt about the dog park, so I reached out to 5 participants and conducted user interviews about their own dog park experiences.
To understand the process in which they go through when searching for a suitable dog park, and the outcome--Did it end up in a successful or unsuccessful trip to the park?
I knew that at the center of it, I had to create a tool that would solve the way people traditionally searched for dog parks. Referring back to my key insights, five significant design challenges were uncovered:
“I want a way to find specific information quickly and easily, instead of reading through every single review”
“I want convenience and efficiency when searching for dog parks by having all relevant information in one place”
“I want a way to keep track of problematic dogs at the park”
“Some park pages have outdated or inaccurate information”
“I want to learn dog parenting tips from other dog owners who share the same values as me”
Through affinity mapping, I uncovered 3 themes and key insights from the data I gathered during the interviews.
1. Convenience
Dog parents had varying definitions of convenience. Some valued convenience in location or proximity while others valued convenience in park amenities such as on-site parking or waste bags.
2. Research & Decision Making
Dog parents always conduct their own research before making the decision on going to a new dog park. They want to know exactly what to expect to avoid wasting their time.
3. Communication & Comprehension
Dog parents see value in connecting with other like-minded dog parents as they can relate with each other. They also share dog parenting tips and learn from one another.
Screener surveys were sent out to fellow dog owners via social media circles and 36 responses were received.
The method I chose for brainstorming solutions was by sketching out my ideas onto paper. I then began to design the Information Architecture through user flows.
Through my research, I confirmed that the most crucial information people looked for were the following:
Plotting out the user flows would help me identify the necessary screens and actions required to achieve the MVP. Additionally, it would help determine very early on, how to structure my future usability tests and hypothesize any possible points of friction.
Sketching out the screens by hand with the intention of testing early.
The sketches were then used to conduct one round of guerilla usability tests with 5 participants in order to determine early on whether there were any points of friction that would need to be addressed before moving forward.
Turning the sketches into wireflows solidified the information architecture and task flows. The major task flows were the Search & Filter Flow and Submit & View Flows.
Results of the usability tests created opportunities for improvements and changes through wireframe iterations.
Creating a balanced visual hierarchy as well as incorporating what I had discovered through my research proved to be a challenging iterative process.
Creating cohesive visual designs by revisiting the brand personality and attributes in preparation for user testing sessions.
Pawks is lighthearted and fun. It’s meant to help owners and dogs connect and to build a positive sense of community.
Playful, warm, adventurous, familiar, reliable
I decided to go with this particular font face because the roundness is very playful and fun. The logo is supposed to represent a dog in the shape of a map pin.
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In order to really drive home the playfulness of the app, what better way than to do so using animations and micro interactions! I’m designing for busy, motivated people who seek efficiency, but adding in one or two seconds of delightful animations during their journey can make the app just that much more memorable and engaging.
With the upcoming usability tests in mind, I began creating the predicted paths in which users would take to complete the following tasks:
Sign up for a new account as a first time user
Search for a dog park that is within your vicinity and bookmark it
Submit a review
Submit an incident
Submit a park update
With an interactive prototype ready to go, I conducted the two rounds of remote and in-person usability tests with 5 participants.
Given the results of the usability tests, one major usability issue was uncovered which needed to be fixed before moving forward.
A walkthrough of the initial tasks
Putting my primitive sketches in front of real users helped identify and correct usability issues early on in the process that would have been costly to fix later down the road.
Although Figma was the most utilized tool for this project and could arguably be used for every step of the way, I also experimented with Miro, Marvel Pop and Maze. Being able to utilize these amazing tools throughout my project helped me work efficiently.
It’s easy to get fixated on initial ideas and designs, but it’s important not to develop tunnel vision. Creating designs is an abstract and intricate process that forces one to look beyond the obvious answers and instead, foster plausible outcomes based on a “what if” idea.
Although the forms presented in this case study work as intended, I would continue to explore ways to make the experience more delightful and less mundane. Forms are infamous for being tedious and time consuming so finding a way to lighten the user’s load would be something I’d continue to work through.
The app relies heavily on the animations and micro-animations to evoke a playful and fun characteristic, but it would be worth incorporating more colors and gradients to further establish this throughout the app.
