PetPulse

/01 Problem

Pet owners juggle multiple responsibilities—from keeping up with vaccinations and health records to scheduling vet visits and ensuring their pets stay safe. These tasks are often scattered across physical files, notes, and disconnected apps, leading to missed appointments and stress.

Goal

Design an all-in-one mobile solution that enables pet parents to:

• Track their pet's health (vaccinations, checkups, meds)

• Monitor real-time location and safety

• Book and manage appointments

• Receive reminders for care tasks

• Access professional veterinary support remotely

/02 Research

Understanding Pet Parents

Research Methodology

• Surveys: Conducted with 20 pet owners (dog and cat parents) to understand daily care routines and challenges.

• Interviews: I conducted 5 user interviews with pet owners and 3 with veterinary professionals

  
  

User Surveys

Pet Parent Needs and Preferences:

They want to learn more about their pets' health and whereabouts, especially when their pets are not nearby

Feedback from Veterinarians:

Online consultation is a very good solution if the problem is not serious and saves time

What Did I Learn?

Key Findings

Persona

Based on my research, I created a persona Anna to guide decisions throughout the design process.

/03 Ideation

After reviewing the research, I brainstormed ways to create a cohesive experience for users like Anna. The MVP would focus on:

• A health dashboard

• Pet profiles

• Integrated vet chat

• Real-time GPS tracker

• Reminders and history logs

I sketched initial flows on paper, outlining:

• Health tracking interface

• Vet appointment scheduling

• Emergency contact & lost pet feature

/04 Design & Prototyping

Using Figma, I translated sketches into mid and high-fidelity wireframes.

• Key Screens

• Home & Pet Profiles: Overview of medical history, age, reminders, and health tips.

• Health Timeline: Chronological view of vaccinations, vet visits

• Appointments: Book, edit, or cancel vet appointments. View location of the nearest clinics.

• Pet Location: Live map, location history, and a “Lost Mode” with alerts.

/05 Usability Testing & Design Enhancement

I conducted usability testing with 5 participants and implemented the following revisions based on their feedback.

1. Dynamic Profile Behavior: When users swipe between multiple pet profiles, the health history now updates accordingly, ensuring the correct data is always shown for the selected pet

2. Prioritized Health Information: Usability testing revealed that users value quick access to medical records more than task lists. To enhance visibility and streamline navigation, the Health History section was repositioned directly below the pet’s profile information.

1. Search Type Selection: Introduced two search options — global search or filtering by type (Vet Clinics or Doctors) — to provide a more tailored and efficient user experience.

2. Improved Clarity: Added key clinic details (location and hours) directly in the list view to help users make quicker, more informed decisions.

1. Users frequently attempted to select the entire clinic card rather than tapping the “Choose” button at the bottom — which was often overlooked.

   To improve clarity and reduce friction, the button was:

   • Relabeled to “Choose a doctor” for clearer intent

   • Repositioned directly beneath clinic details to align with user eye flow

   
   

   This adjustment better reflects user expectations and improves task completion during appointment booking.

1. Usability testing revealed that users considered pet location tracking more critical than managing to-do tasks. Many relied on this feature for peace of mind, especially when away from their pets.

   To better support this need, I:

   • Elevated Location to the bottom navigation bar for immediate access

   • Designed a real-time map view showing pet movements and history for added context

Next Steps:

The final prototype successfully addressed key user needs.

• Conduct a second round of testing with an updated prototype

• Explore integration with wearable pet devices

• Add a social feature for connecting with local pet parents