UX/UI Methodologies & Techniques:
• Product Design
• UX Research
• UI Design
• AB Testing
Software
Problem
How can more animals be rescued while limited by social distancing restrictions?
Adopters have to visit shelters individually to see available animals
Adopters seeking particular traits have to spend additional effort competing
Shelters that rely on donations and volunteers often struggle to host and maintain websites with accurate information on available animals
Dr. Simone Guerios
University of Florida
The rise in subsidized spay-neuter access helped drive the euthanasia of shelter pets in the United States from an estimated 13.5 million in 1973 to 1.5 million in 2019... Shelters are in crisis mode with overcrowding.
Dennis Thompson
HealthyDay Reporter
The pandemic caused a sharp decline in spaying and neutering, first with the initial lockdowns and then with shelter overcrowding, lagging pet adoption rates, and a nationwide shortage of veterinarians, researchers said.
Project Goals
Create an application for adopters to review animals for rescue
I aimed to create a streamlined app design to deliver an inviting experience of local animal adoption for mobile devices.
Encourage responsible animal rescue with efficiency and ease
I strived to produce elegant UX/UI solutions that enable animal adoption to be conducted rapidly and responsibly.
Competitive analysis
The competition focuses on web platforms for adoption
I analyzed 3 of the most popular adoption websites and mobile applications surrounding the goal of socially-distanced adoption. I found that none of them support communication with shelters. These apps prioritize supporting shelter management or animal profiles sharing. This leaves a gap for a mobile-first application focused on efficient animal discovery and adoption/visitation inquiry that requires minimal effort by shelters.
AllPaws
A simple, all-in-one platform, built for your pet care business
PetFinder
Find your new best friend. Browse pets from our network of shelters and rescues.
Adopets
Improving animal shelters while connecting more pets to loving homes.
Challenges and Opportunities
User interviews and audits revealed critical unmet needs.
I explored the adoption process through user interviews and a wide audit of shelter websites, revealing major gaps in digital tools and uneven tech adoption—especially critical during times of social distancing.
Opportunities of Online Adoption
Individualized Adoption
With personalized profiles, adopters and shelters can provide adoption criteria and preferences. Animal profiles can be discovered by adoptees in a way that sorts animals based on preference and adoption criteria.
Visual Contact
Virtual interaction can provide adoptees a remote method of interaction with pets to get a sense of the animals personality. Adoptees could contact shelter/foster pet caretakers to coordinate video chat to help adoptees make more informed decisions.
Direct-Line of Communication
Through connecting adoptees directly to shelters and foster caretakers, the adoption process can take place entirely online, can be expedited and can allow participants to have access to pet profiles and caretakers for questions that come up.
Challenges
Social Distancing
Socially distanced pet adoption strains shelters and adopters. Family visits are no longer available. Shelters limit the number of guests and allow visitation by reservation only.
Disseminated Availability
Adopters search a multitude of shelter websites to find an animal they would like to adopt; after submitting an application they find out the animal is no longer available.
Outdated Listings
Shelters work hard trying to keep up-to-date information for their animals online. The shelters then need to review applicants for fit as they come in on a first come first serve basis
User Research
I interviewed adopters and shelters to learn from their experiences, decisions and outcomes.
None of my interviewees used 3rd party adoption apps.
Interviews were conducted with a few pet adopters and a couple shelter managers about the adoption process and issues that came up throughout. Hearing the process from them and understanding their stories put the experience into perspective.
Research Goals
1.
Identify Issues, Values, Processes
2.
Discover Pain Points and Needs
3.
Locate Barriers and Obstacles to adoption
4.
Determine barrier to entry for Online Platforms
Interview Questions
Adopters
Questions about adoption experiences, process and motivators.
Shelters
Questions regarding information availability for animals and other adoption services.
Adopter Insights
Shelter Insights
Personas
User Story
I adopted my dog who was rescued from a kill shelter. I try to encourage others to Adopt Don't Shop for animal rescues, but many of them say they want a new animal of a particular breed. It took a lot of effort for me to find Rufus, I had been checking shelters all around my area and way out of state and waiting to hear back and having limited information made it so difficult.
Needs and Goals
• Visibility of any pets available for adoption
• Methods to determine info such as health and behavior
Preferences
• No big dogs
• No bite-history
• Younger than 3
Frustrations
• Filling out applications
• Outdated information
• Competition
Pain Points
• Adopting sought after pets can be competitive, requiring precise attention
• Unavailable information and websites that are outdated
User Story
I manage an animal shelter, so I spend most of my time ensuring the animals have everything they need while finding suitable families for adoption. My shelter relies on donations so I am always concerned about budget. I wish I had more time to spend caring for the animals.
Needs and Goals
• Share accurate animal information to prospective adopters
• Expedite the process of getting animals into good homes
Preferences
• Easy animal management
• Finding good homes
• Gentle handling
Frustrations
• Irresponsible owners
• Rough handling
• Limited information
Pain Points
• Keeping websites updated with limited information available
• Discrimination against older dogs and those that require more training
• Lacks the time to record detailed animal information online
Adopter user flow
Simple flowcharts were created to visualize and streamline the process of discovery and selection.
Simple onboarding for adopters help them create profile with basic information and pet preferences. Discovery of pets was designed to snapshot animal info and connect adopters to the shelter in charge to coordinate visits and applications.
Taking what was learned through research and interviews, I began creating wireframes for an adopter conducting online pet adoption.
Shelter user flow
Simple flowcharts were created to visualize and lay the groundwork for a shelter management platform.
Shelters can create profiles to present their available animals with any available information. Adoption and visitation can be directly coordinated with prospective adopters through mobile communication.
Taking what was learned through research and interviews, I began creating wireframes for the shelters experience of online pet adoption.
Design iterations
The ui development and brand went through iterations and improvements
Switching to a Discovery Feed
Improving animal shelters while connecting more pets to loving homes.
Externalizing the Application Process
Find your new best friend. Browse pets from our network of shelters and rescues.
Reflection and Outcomes
Designing for trust, clarity, and long-term growth
Through research, thoughtful design systems, and ongoing collaboration with users, Live Data Display became a critical tool in plant operations. It improved alignment, reduced costly errors, and gave operational teams the clarity and control they needed—while building a scalable foundation for future features.