Fetch
user experience case study
Project: This project is a conceptual design based on a prompt that allows me demonstrate my UX design skills and problem-solving approach.
About: Fetch is an innovative pet adoption platform created to streamline the adoption process and connect potential adopters with their perfect companions. The platform leverages AI-driven compatibility scoring, detailed pet profiles, and real-time communication tools to create a personalized experience for both adopters and shelters. Fetch’s mission is captured in its tagline, “Stray Less, Rescue More,” highlighting its commitment to making pet adoption more accessible and meaningful for everyone.
Tools: Figma, Adobe XD Adobe Creative Suite, Google Suite
PROJECT OVERVIEW
THE DESIGN BRIEF
While Fetch has successfully improved the pet adoption process, the platform still faces challenges in providing a personalized, seamless experience for both adopters and shelters. Many adopters struggle with decision paralysis and mismatched pet choices, while communication between shelters and adopters remains inefficient. Fetch has brought me in to explore these pain points further and develop a solution that enhances the adoption experience, ensuring better matches and smoother communication for all parties involved.
DESIGN PROBLEM
Create an awesome app! Design a user-friendly app that streamlines morning rush operations by enabling pre-ordering, online payment, and virtual waitlist sign-ups, while incorporating a loyalty program to reward frequent patrons and strengthen community ties.
SOLUTION
Design an intuitive and personalized pet adoption platform for Fetch that improves the user experience by offering more tailored pet matches and seamless communication between adopters and shelters. The solution should address decision paralysis, enhance adopter confidence, and ensure lasting pet placements. By refining the adoption process, the goal is to create a more efficient, enjoyable, and successful experience for both adopters and pets.
PROJECT GOAL
PAWS for thought: Understanding Our Users
User insights are the foundation of great design. By understanding real needs and behaviors,
I can create experiences that feel natural, solve problems, and truly connect with users.
EMPATHIZE STAGE
To design a platform that truly meets user needs, I explored the competitive landscape of pet adoption services. This analysis highlighted essential features like robust pet profiles and streamlined scheduling tools while uncovering gaps in personalized matching and user support. These findings shaped Fetch into a platform that goes beyond expectations, leveraging AI and thoughtful design to create a seamless and heartfelt adoption experience.
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
I created a research plan that outlined 7 key components:
RESEARCH PLAN & INTERVIEWS
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Project Background
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Research Goals
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Research Objectives
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Research Questions
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Methodologies
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Hypothesis
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Timeline
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Identify the main challenges adopters face when searching for and adopting pets, including personalization, communication barriers, and pet selection.
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Explore adopter preferences for key features, such as AI-driven compatibility scoring, pet profiles, and virtual meet-and-greets.
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Understand the current pain points shelters experience when managing adoption requests and communication with potential adopters.
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Explore how Fetch’s platform can simplify the adoption journey for both adopters and shelters while aligning with the platform’s mission to make the adoption process more humane and efficient.
RESEARCH Objectives
Conducting user interviews and analyzing competitors revealed critical insights into the needs and preferences of both adopters and shelters. These findings illuminated areas of frustration and opportunity, shaping the direction for Fetch’s platform design.
RESEARCH KEY FINDINGS
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Need for Personalization in Pet Matching: Adopters often feel overwhelmed by the volume of options on existing platforms, leading to decision fatigue. They expressed a strong desire for tools like lifestyle quizzes and behavioral insights to guide their choices and increase confidence in their matches.
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Demand for Comprehensive Pet Profiles: Both adopters and shelters emphasized the value of detailed profiles, including photos, videos, and personality descriptions. These features help adopters feel connected to pets and allow shelters to showcase the unique qualities of animals in their care.
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Challenges in Shelter-Adopter Communication: Scheduling meet-and-greets or contacting shelters was often cited as a pain point. Streamlined communication tools, such as in-app scheduling and real-time updates, were identified as essential for improving the adoption process.
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Frustration with Dated or Cluttered Designs: Many existing platforms suffer from outdated interfaces or cluttered designs, making navigation difficult. Adopters and shelters alike appreciate clean, modern, and intuitive designs that enhance usability and reduce frustration.
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Opportunity for Community Building: There’s significant interest in fostering a sense of community among adopters and shelters, such as through adoption success stories or resources for pet care. This adds value to the platform and keeps users engaged post-adoption.
DEFINE STAGE
Defining the problem is where the groundwork for innovation begins. By clearly outlining Fetch’s goals, user needs, and shelter objectives, I can ensure the platform bridges the gap between adopters and shelters, delivering a seamless experience that meets expectations while staying true to Fetch’s mission of “Stray Less, Rescue More.”
Paving the path to adoption
User personas are where research transforms into empathy, turning insights into relatable profiles that guide every design decision. Based on findings from interviews and competitive analysis, these personas reflect the diverse needs and goals of Fetch’s adopters. They’ve been crucial in keeping the focus on real users, ensuring the platform is intuitive, effective, and meaningful for everyone it serves.
USER PERSONAS
Revisiting the project objectives and mapping them in a goals Venn diagram helped refine the connection between user needs, shelter goals, and design strategy. This step keeps the project focused and ensures that as the platform develops, it remains true to Fetch’s mission of connecting people and pets while creating a seamless, meaningful experience for all.
On the Right Trail
IDEATE STAGE
The Ideate phase is where creativity really starts to flow. After gathering user insights, it's time to mix things up, brainstorm, and generate a variety of solutions that could address the problem. This phase is all about thinking big and exploring possibilities.
Ideas unleashed
Designing the sitemap was a key step in organizing Fetch's user flow. It lays out the structure of the platform, ensuring users can easily navigate from pet matches to adoption resources and personalized care tips. This map serves as a roadmap for a seamless experience, making sure every important feature is right where users expect it.
SITE MAP
The user flow maps out the journey from the first tap to a successful pet adoption, ensuring every step feels seamless and intuitive. By organizing each interaction into clear, logical progressions, I created a flow that minimizes friction, keeps users on track, and helps them find their perfect pet match as easily and quickly as possible.
USER FLOW
Lo-fi wireframes are essential for exploring ideas swiftly and effectively. Starting with simple sketches allowed me to focus on the overall structure and flow of the pet adoption experience without getting caught up in the finer details. This approach enabled me to quickly iterate, test different concepts, and establish a solid framework for the final design.
LOFI WIREFRAMES
PROTOTYPE STAGE
Prototyping the perfect match
Prototyping is where ideas start to come to life. By creating an interactive model of Fetch, I tested key features like pet profiles and the matching process, refining the experience to ensure it was seamless and user-friendly. This step allowed me to make adjustments and perfect the design, setting the stage for valuable user feedback.
For Fetch’s logo and branding, I focused on creating a design that feels friendly, approachable, and reflective of the amazing effort of helping animals find a home. I started with simple sketches, aiming for a logo that felt modern yet warm, capturing the essence of connection and companionship. Drawing on inviting colors and playful elements, the brand evokes the excitement and joy of finding the perfect pet match. The result is a brand identity that aligns with Fetch’s mission to help people connect with their ideal pets in a welcoming, accessible way.
LOGO & Brand IDENTITY
The Design System for Fetch was created to ensure consistency and harmony across every touchpoint of the user experience. By building on the brand and logo design, it acts as a visual toolkit, standardizing elements like typography, color schemes, and button styles. This system ensures a cohesive look and feel, seamlessly guiding the design from wireframes to the final high-fidelity interface for a polished, unified experience that aligns with Fetch’s mission to connect pets and owners effortlessly.
DESIGN SYSTEM
The HiFi mockups brought Fetch’s design to life with vibrant colors, refined typography, and a clean, approachable layout. This stage focused on ensuring that the visual elements were cohesive, user-friendly, and aligned with Fetch’s mission of connecting adopters with pets in need.
The HiFi wireframes followed, finalizing the app's structure and flow. This phase ensured that key features, such as the pet match system and adoption journey, were intuitive and easy to navigate, creating a seamless experience for users as they explored and interacted with the platform.
HIFI MOCKUPS & WIREFRAMES
The HiFi prototype was the final step in bringing the Fetch platform to life. It integrated all visual elements and core features into an interactive model, enabling me to test the user flow, fine-tune interactions, and ensure a smooth, intuitive experience. This prototype facilitated real-world testing, allowing for valuable insights into how users would interact with the platform and highlighting any final adjustments needed before launch.
HIFI Prototype
Working on Fetch was a deeply rewarding experience that reinforced the value of user-centered design in addressing real-world challenges. From conducting user research to developing interactive prototypes, every stage of the project pushed me to think critically about how technology can enhance the pet adoption process while prioritizing user needs. I learned the importance of connecting insights from user interviews, competitive analysis, and testing to create solutions that are both practical and empathetic.
The project also honed my ability to balance innovative technology with a seamless user experience. Designing a platform that uses advanced technology, like AI-powered pet matching, while keeping the experience intuitive and user-friendly, highlighted the delicate balance between innovation and simplicity.Building out the user flow and refining interactions was an iterative journey that reinforced my belief in the power of feedback and continuous improvement.
Overall, Fetch highlighted how thoughtful design can not only solve problems but also create a meaningful impact, particularly in areas where technology can improve lives. This experience deepened my passion for creating intuitive, purposeful designs, and I’m excited to bring these skills and insights to future projects that combine innovation with user needs.