Role
Visual designer, user experience and interaction design, UX writing
Context
I was one of four designers for this student project. As sprint lead for research and hi-fidelity prototyping, I was responsible for managing tasks, documentation, and overseeing the team to achieve the week’s sprint goal. I conducted research and usability testing, and created frameworks and prototypes for the home screen to share the vision.
The Problem
Our team was tasked with creating an integrated platform to simplify healthcare for pet owners. Through rigorous research and analysis, my team and I informed the design and development of an interactive prototype that facilitates seamless management of pet healthcare records and appointments.
Team
Karen Dang / Mentor
Ashley Chang / Designer
Dheeksha Mageswaran / Designer
Katherine Ong / Designer
Timeline
6 weeks
Tools
Figma, Notion, Google Surveys
Research
📚 Literature Review
My first step was to explore existing research on pet healthcare and identify common user pain points through literature reviews and competitive analysis of veterinary telemedicine. This initial research allowed me to craft insightful interview and survey questions while pinpointing crucial gaps to address during the research process.
✏️ Surveys
My team and I collected qualitative and quantitative data by using a Google Survey, and we were able to gather information from 30+ pet owners ranging from 19-26 years old. Our questions inquired about health tracking, communication, socioeconomic barriers, and emotions.
From the survey, we found that participants had difficulty accessing pet healthcare information. There were variations in experience between telemedicine and physical visits, and difficulties in record keeping,
Minimizing sensory overload and enhancing usability for users of varying ages and technical proficiencies could be a crucial area of focus.
💬 Interviews
I conducted eight in-person interviews with current pet owners to understand their experience with telemedicine and how we could enhance it.
After conducting interviews, it became evident that most participants avoid using online documentation due to technical challenges, unintuitive interfaces, and the cumbersome process of entering information.
Synthesis
Affinity Mapping
All data gathered from the research phase was then categorized into user behavior and preferences to enable us to draw solutions to enhance the telemedicine platform.
User Persona
I created an in-depth user persona and imagined how users would utilize a pet healthcare app. The target audience prefers secure and reliable documentation that clearly categorize services rather than grouping everything under a broad label.
Meet Alex, an introverted university student with a healthy cat of 3 years. Alex prefers being able to book telemedicine appointments when possible to limit stress on his cat and himself.
Meet Randy, a university student who has an old dog with heart issues. Randy wants an organized schedule to make sure he is giving his dog the medication he needs.
Users like Alex and Randy progress design decisions.
Ideation
Workflows
To establish a rough outline, I developed a guiding framework for the app, envisioning the onboarding, alerts, documentation, and appointment process.
Sketches
I began envisioning the structure and features for the onboarding, home, medical records, and appointments.
Design
Envisioning the Home screen
I focused primarily on designing the user flows and layout for the home page. The biggest challenge was encouraging users to adopt an online platform for managing pet documentation, as our research showed a strong preference for physical records due to the sense of security they provide. To address this, I aimed to present relevant information, alerts, and the latest health status of their pets in a clear, organized manner without overwhelming the user.
Home Screen
The home page acts as a central hub where users can view upcoming vet appointments, directly message veterinarians, and manage their pets’ profiles.
Managing Appointments
We wanted to reduce how much pet owners have to manually input data before scheduling appointments by simplifying it during the onboarding and pet profile editing. That way, emergency appointments, reschedules, and cancellations can be completed with autofilled info.
Usability Testing
My team and I conducted 8 usability tests, with participants being students, ages 19–22. From these tests we discovered:
buttons labels were unclear with intentions
it was inconvenient to tap through dropdowns
there was a desire to add pre-visit notes for the vet
the onboarding process was too long and had too many screens, disengaging the user
We then conducted A/B Testing with 11 participants by having them vote between different visual representations for each of these tasks and implemented their feedback into our final design.
Pet Profile
To enhance transparency and communication between pet owners and veterinarians, medical files—such as those tracking conditions, lab results, vaccinations, and more—can be uploaded and neatly organized within the records.
Design System
Creating the Design System
Our design system was developed based on a thorough understanding of user preferences, usability principles, and industry standards. We chose a color palette predominantly influenced by medical affiliations, utilizing shades of blue to convey trust and professionalism. This choice was inspired by successful medical institutions like Kaiser Permanente and UCSF, which use blue as a primary color.
Additionally, we embraced a minimalist approach to reduce visual clutter and cognitive load. Accent colors were strategically employed to highlight actionable elements such as buttons, ensuring intuitive navigation and clear visual hierarchy. The incorporation of off-white tones further contributed to a softer, less straining brightness level for prolonged use.
Implementing Usability Testing Findings into the Prototype
Incorporating usability testing findings into the prototype was a critical step in ensuring our design met the needs and preferences of pet owners. Some of the findings included preferences for button placement, readability concerns with login screens, and the desire for a minimalistic yet professional aesthetic.
Transitioning from Mid-fi to Hi-fi
The mid-fi prototypes provided a foundational understanding of user flows and interaction patterns. As I progressed to hi-fi prototypes, my focus shifted to refining visual details, ensuring consistency across design elements, and enhancing the overall aesthetic appeal and usability of the app.
Solution
Takeaways
🤝 Team dynamic
Working closely with my team and mentor was instrumental in navigating the project's complexities. My mentor provided critical insights into major issues, helping us recognize and address significant gaps in our design. On presentation day, our work was reviewed by Neha Deshmukh, a UX Designer at Amazon. Her feedback was invaluable, highlighting the importance of integrating more educational information about veterinary healthcare and the potential of including a chatbot based on our research. Neha's advice guided us to enhance our focus on user pain points while expanding our vision to include these additional features, ensuring that our final product was both comprehensive and user-centric.
🏆 Most rewarding moment
The most rewarding part of this project was receiving feedback from all the judges and winning the Best Overall Design award. This recognition was a testament to our meticulous research, thorough user testing, and the development of a fully fleshed interface and user experience.
