Toto  

User Research • User Flows • Branding • Wireframes • User Interface • Prototyping

Project Overview

Searching for a dog-friendly place or activity can be tough. Owners are digging through the business websites, searching multiple apps for reviews, and making calls to find out if their dog can come with them. A lot of these are unreliable. Owners also worry if the environment is right for their dogs’ behavior level. My goal was to provide a one-stop, reliable app for searching for dog-friendly places, while also giving custom recommendations that are best suited for the dog and owner.

My Contributions

Role: UX/UI Designer
Duration: 1 Month
Tools used: Figma, Miro

As the sole designer, all steps were performed by myself. I conducted research and user interviews and created all user flows, wireframes, branding, and the user interface and prototyping.

DISCOVERY

The Need to Get Out of the House

As a dog owner and professional dog walker, I recognized a question that dog owners were asking every time they wanted to leave the house with their dog – “Is it dog-friendly?” I wanted to know more about who struggles with this question, what stops them from bringing their dogs out, and how they currently search for dog-friendly places.

Research

Households adopted a dog or cat in 2020

23M

owners say their dog exhibits noticeable signs of distress when leaving the house

61%

hours a day on average a dog is home alone

4-10

Dogs are man's best friend - at least when the owners are at home. Between an 8-hour work day and a possible hour commute each way, dogs can spend an average of 4 to 10 hours alone every day. Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, lucky dogs and their owners have been reunited as work shifted to being remote. Even more lucky, nearly 1 in every 5 households – approximately 23 million households – adopted a dog or cat during the pandemic (ASPCA). This increase has more people home with pets.

Even though working from home has brought many positives into our lives, being inside our homes all day has sparked some mental and physical health concerns – and not just for us humans. A dog's most differentiating ability is its powerful sense of smell - it is how it experiences the world, understands its environment, and lowers its stress levels. Getting out of the house is extremely beneficial for both parties.

“Such short lives our pets have to spend with us, and they spend most of it waiting for us to come home.”

– John Grogan, Author, Marley and Me

Unclear, Uneasy, Unaccommodating

I sent out surveys on social media and local dog groups. I decided to interview seven people; I chose people of different areas (suburban vs. urban), age groups, and genders. The main qualifier is if they had a dog and if they bring it out of the home with them.

After speaking to my interviewees, I organized my findings into different categories: What they currently do to search for dog-friendly places, their fears, struggles, and desires.

DEFINE

Affinity Map

Key findings:

  • Owners use multiple platforms and methods when searching for dog-friendly places.

  • Unreliable and minimal information on other search platforms.

  • Unclear rules and policies.

  • Owners are worried about their dogs behavior in public places.

  • Worried about leaving dogs alone - in cars, at home, tied up on street.

Personas

  • “I’d bring her everywhere if I could.”

    31 • Events Manager • Brooklyn, NY

    Rule-following on-the-go city dweller with popular neighborhood pup.

    Frustration:
    • Feels guilty leaving the dog at home and going back to work
    • Platforms are unreliable

    Goals:
    • Knowing if a business offers special services
    • Rules and regulations better advertised

  • “The anxiety is mutual.”

    26 • Account Manager • New York, NY

    Active yet cautious with a reactive dog.

    Frustrations:
    • Over-stimulating places
    • Don’t trust dog to be tied outside
    • Not knowing specific rules/policies

    Goal:
    • Knowing if a place is safe for dogs anxiety

  • “Sometimes you’re playing a game of chance...”

    28 • Graphic Designer • Burlington, VT
    
Social, impromptu traveler with an adventurous, high-energy dog.

    Frustration:
    • Hyper dog; doesn’t want to leave home but also doesn’t want to risk taking out if will be turned away

    Goals:
    • Knowing what wars around on the go
    • A way of knowing outdoor seating availability

User Stories

Based on my findings, there are three main goals that a user could have.

“As a dog owner...”

  • 
I want to find dog-friendly places and activities so I can take my dog out with me. (MVP)

  • of an anxious/high-energy dog, I want tips to minimize unfavorable behavior when we leave the house. (Should Have)

  • I want a personalized social account to make going out with my dog more enjoyable. (Could Have)

IDEATION

My original idea was to be able to make a reservation at a dog-friendly place within the app. However, I ran into some questions that would pose potential issues, specifically: How can we ensure that all restaurants will participate and effectively manage yet another reservation app (on top of Resy, Open Table, and their own forms on their site)?
So I made my red route of my first user flow to work with external booking sites.

After considering another one of the main issues dog owners faced, I thought it might be helpful to give more than just tips for their dogs who needed a bit more attention. I decided to add a quiz to get a general idea of their behavior level, then offer customized tips and recommended places for my second red route.

User Flow

Red Route 1

Red Route 2

Designing for Owner AND Dog

The wireframes I created implemented the user flows. I tested these five users, chosen from my survey.

Wireframes

Home/Search

Search Results

Behavior Test

Business Info/Reservation

Behavior Results

BRANDING

App Name: Toto
Mission/Vision: Finding a place to go with your dog should be easy. Toto connects you and your dog to hundreds of pre-approved dog-friendly places and activities.
Brand Personality: Are you ready to go O-U-T?

The name and colors are inspired by the Wizard of Oz. Dorothy and her dog, Toto, are lost, trying to find this promising place that will accommodate their wishes. They ask all of these characters for directions, who join her in the search. They follow a yellow brick road until they get where they’re going. I think this goes with the goal of my app - being on the hunt with your dog to find a specific place that will get you to where you both want to be.

During my high-fidelity mockups, I made many adjustments to my style guide as I realized some things (i.e., color, fonts, icons) were not meshing well or meeting contrast standards.

HIGH-FIDELITY & TESTING

During my first round of testing, participants struggled with some of the navigation. Many could not find the test; one participant said that they would not have known the dog behavior test was a feature unless they were poking around the app. Acknowledging that this was an important differentiator of the competitors and a key function of the app, I took their suggestion into my next round of iterations.


Another usability issue was that users could not find the checklist, which was on the “Tips” page in the navigation. During this task, one user stated, “If my dog has behavioral problems, I know that already. I wouldn’t be looking for tips here.” They also brought up the question, “What if my dog is perfect? What would be on this page?”

Iterations

I decided to remove the “Tips” part of my navigation and redirect my focus back to the main goal of this app - going to dog-friendly places. I added a “Friends” page to the navigation in its place. There, you can find friends who also use the app, see their reviewed spots, see places you are both pre-approved for, and invite them out. This was actually on my original user story, however, I seemed to have lost track of that idea along the way.

PROTOTYPE

TAKEAWAY

This was my first UX/UI project. Coming from the graphic design industry, it’s hard to not get too wrapped up in the design. My focus has always been making things look nice, not so much the research behind it. I learned that it is important to not get too wrapped up in the small details in the early stage; things will most likely change. This was especially true when creating the style guide.

Your goals may also change in the process, but it’s important not to forget what originally brought you there. I think when you are working on something for a long period, especially independently, it’s easy to keep adding in features. The urge to put all of your ideas out in the first go in is strong, however, it’s important to remember it’s not about your ideas - it’s about the users wants, needs and frustrations.

I am no stranger to working solo, but it is just you and your thoughts. I realized how important the testing process really is. Whether it is users, teammates, or stakeholders, collaboration is extremely valuable in thinking critically.

Overall, it was a fun project. I am glad I was able to work on an idea that I am passionate about. I am confident that this app would do well in the market.

Dog owners - are you ready to go O-U-T?