PackPals - Expand your pack

Designing an app is a difficult feat. Working to design an app for a specific audience, in our case one that connects both dog owners and dog walkers, presented its own unique set of problems.

Our primary goal was to seamlessly connect dog owners to a dog walker in their area, saving owners time or providing them with a vehicle to give the best care pawsible to their tail-wagging pals.

Research and User-base

Developing a poll to survey potential users was the first step in gathering research for the project. As well as digging into comparing what was available on the market currently and why those apps did and did not work for specific types of users.

Our research through polling indicated that most users who don't use a dog-walking app to provide exercise to their pawed-pals had their own immediate network that they trusted more than an outright stranger to provide walks and pet sitting for their animal friends.

This presented an interesting avenue for us to explore--connecting pet owners with those available in their existing network (those they'd typically have to independently communicate with to arrange pet walks or sitting) into a singular space, where--if the worst happened and their immediate network could not come through for them--they could also reach out to local service providers such as independent walkers and sitters, as well as connect with larger corporate services such as pet sitting provided by PetsMart in the US.

How Might We & User Flows

So the context of our wider problem narrowed to capitalize on the network of potential users who typically find themselves saying "I don't need to hire some stranger to walk my dog" to get them instead to see PackPals as a means to connecting with their immediate circle of care providers (friends or family) as well as a wider network in the event that network fell through.

We needed a way to reassure owners that their pets are in good hands and work to allow them to leverage both their immediate network as well as a local network of for-hire service providers.

What's easier than integrating your own contacts and using a messenger service? This became the backbone of the app design.

Wireframing & Visual Design

Sketching and wireframes are critical for quickly visualizing how a project will come together. Below are samples of the onboarding process, blocked out mocks of a user's profile layout, as well as search result views and a view of the Walker profile.

Wireframes provide the skeletal structure of the overall app, whereas the Visual design determines the muscles and skin, giving you more the function and the aesthetic to draw a user in visually.

The Messaging Interface

Our messaging interface was critical, giving the user options to reach out to both immediate network members for pet care as well as see just how many service providers are on reserve in the event their immediate network can't provide for them during the desired time frame.