👋🏻 Introduction

Social networking apps are integral to our rich inner emotional worlds; creating specially-tailored spaces to connect over shared interests and passions. Recognizing pet owners’ unique experiences and desire for community, RescYOU was developed. RescYOU is a social networking app specifically created to foster a vibrant community among pet owners and enthusiasts. This case study explores the development, features, and impact of RescYOU on pet owners worldwide.

Development and Purpose

RescYOU originated from research showing a growing number of pet owners seeking an online space to interact with other pet owners. The development team (me) conducted extensive market research, surveys, and user testing to understand the specific needs and challenges faced by pet owners in today’s market. The app's purpose is to create a platform where pet owners can share pet-related content, seek advice, and form meaningful relationships with other pet enthusiasts.

Features and Functionality

RescYOU offers a comprehensive range of features tailored to meet the unique requirements of pet owners. The app provides users with personalized profiles, allowing them to showcase their pets' details, including name, breed, age, and photos. Users can browse through a variety of pet categories and connect with others who share similar interests and pet types.

A news feed serves as a lively “town square” where users can share photos, videos, and stories of their pets. Pet owners can engage in discussions on various pet-related topics, seek advice from the community, and offer support to fellow members.

The app also features a marketplace for users to buy and sell pet-related products and services. Ratings and reviews enable trustworthy and reliable transactions.

User research

Research for this app began as a 5 question survey regarding pet sitting apps and services that our potential users already used. Questions covered features that they liked and disliked as well as what they felt was missing. Overwhelmingly, trust and safety was top priority. Next came real-time walk updates, photo uploads, time spent on walks, and check-in/check-out times. The less navigating between multiple apps and webpages for those features the better. Pain points included fees that those services added to the overall cost, and specifically that the fees were not equitably distributed to service providers. This led many to forego the features they liked to use the trusted walker off-app.The second portion of my research was the development of a high-fidelity prototype to understand the user flow, as well as tracking users’ feelings about the sequencing, design and usability of the app. I concluded that a quicker onboarding flow was necessary to keep users excited about using the social feed to explore and learn the new technology.

📚 Research

User research

Research for this app began as a online questionnaire to a 5 question survey about apps and dog/cat sitting services people already used and what they liked, disliked and wished they could see done differently. Overwhelmingly, trust and safety were huge pain points for pet owners. After that, they loved the tech that app-based services offered them. Real-time walk updates, photo uploads, time spent on walks, check-in and check-out times. Everything existing within the app was very helpful. The part people didn’t like was the fees that those services added to the overall cost and how those costs didn’t go the person providing the services. This lead many to take forego the tech elements they liked about the apps and use the trusted walker off app.The second portion of my research was with a high-fidelity prototype to understand the user flow and how users felt about the overall sequencing, design and usability of the app. After, I concluded a quicker onboarding flow was necessary to get users into the social feed faster to explore and learn in a more self directed fashion.

Key Players

1. Wag!: Wag! is one of the leading pet walking apps, offering on-demand dog walking services. It operates in several major cities across the United States, providing pet owners with access to background-checked and trained dog walkers.

2. Rover: Rover is a popular pet care platform that connects pet owners with a network of dog walkers, pet sitters, and other pet care services. It offers a wide range of services and operates in multiple countries.

3. Trusted House Sitters: Trusted House Sitters is a trade-based platform that connects homeowners with reliable and trustworthy individuals who are willing to house and pet sit while they are away. It provides a safe, convenient, and inexpensive way for homeowners to find responsible house sitters and for sitters to access unique travel accommodations worldwide.

✨ Bringing it all together

Once I defined the colors, selected the type, and built the components, it was time to build and test the prototype. The slide up drawers worked well for onboarding, but wouldn't be a functional UI style for the overall app. I returned to the draft to create a more intuitive user flow. The result was a simplified and near invisible design that appealed to my testers.

User persona

Based on the market research I did and where I saw opportunities for my app, I created Alex.

User persona

Based on the market research I did and where I saw opportunities for my app, I created Alex.

🛠️ Wireframing

Here are my initial lo-fi wireframe sketches, based on the user flows I created.

Getting more hi-fi

🎨 Design

Adding color, bringing it to life

Moodboard goals: Clean, quirky, approachable, social, enthusiastic

Softening the palette

✅ Conclusion

RescYOU is a social networking app that allows users to connect with the rich inner worlds of fellow pet owners and enthusiasts. This case study highlights the significance and impact of a platform dedicated to pet-specific connecting, sharing, and supporting. RescYOU successfully addresses the challenges faced by pet owners, including the lack of a specialized social networking app, limited information sharing, advice and support gaps, lost and found pet challenges, and a limited marketplace for pet-related products and services.

Overall, RescYOU demonstrates the importance of a specialized social networking app tailored to the unique needs of pet owners. By fostering a sense of community through shared knowledge and experiences and offering valuable resources, RescYOU can enrich the lives of pet owners and their beloved pets.

Building the building blocks

✨ Bringing it all together

Once the colors were defined, type was chosen, components were built all there was left to do was build the prototype and test it. I quickly realized that the slide up drawers would work well for onboarding, but wouldn't be a functional UI style for the overall app. I went back to the design to simplify what the overall experience would be like and how pages would flow from one to another to give an almost invisible design experience so users weren't left guessing how to move forward or why something was created the way it was, which would take them out of the experience in app they were trying to have.

✅ Conclusion

RescYOU is a social networking app that allows users to connect with the rich inner worlds of fellow pet owners and enthusiasts. This case study highlights the significance and impact of a platform dedicated to pet-specific connecting, sharing, and supporting. RescYOU successfully addresses the challenges faced by pet owners, including the lack of a specialized social networking app, limited information sharing, advice and support gaps, lost and found pet challenges, and a limited marketplace for pet-related products and services.

Overall, RescYOU demonstrates the importance of a specialized social networking app tailored to the unique needs of pet owners. By fostering a sense of community through shared knowledge and experiences and offering valuable resources, RescYOU can enrich the lives of pet owners and their beloved pets.