Many pet adoption solutions make use of match-making algorithms, but this feature is often bypassed as adopters "shop around" without looking into specific care requirements for different breeds. This results in high rates of surrender and abandonment, as research by ASPCA and RSPCA shows. In this portfolio project I set out to design a service that injects foresight and the right amount of user friction into the adoption process.
In 2022 there has been a 25% increase in abandoned animals in England and Wales compared to the previous year.
44% of rehomed pets were abandoned due to pet problems such as behaviour, needs, and expenses.
1 in 3 pets currently up for adoption has spent less than a year with the previous owner.
Care & Foresight
The volunteer team at my local shelter shared some observations on the adoption industry and its short-comings. The issues of inadequate resources and high intake are known, but some pitfalls directly stemmed from user behaviour:
Disinformation
Adopters don’t fully understand the varying forms and degrees of pet care needed by different animals and breeds, which results in thousands of pets being relinquished every year.
Commodification
Shelter staff sympathise with the less desirable pets who spend their lives in-shelter and face euthanasia as adopters shop around for the more sought-after breeds.
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Following a Double Diamond model was an obvious choice for such a multi-factorial, fragmented problem.
Discover the motivations and concerns of prospect pet owners towards adoption and pet care.
Define the key takeaways from research and testing, and prioritise the features that directly address the pain points expressed.
Develop the chosen features into design explorations to find different avenues towards a solution.
Deliver viable concepts for usability testing to validate design decisions and finalise assets.
Implement a strictly sequential adoption process where prospective adopters only see matching pets based on their questionnaire responses and book an on-site experience day to deepen pet knowledge before the point-of-adoption.
A Different Perspective
Personas helped me sympathise with the adopters' point of view, reframing the problem to benefit them as much as the pets and shelters.
An audit of competitors’ websites showed a wealth of info and articles that obfuscate the user journey of adopting a pet.
With every iteration I lessened clutter and restyled the information layout to promote user action.
I saw it crucial that the flow feel like a natural unfolding of that first call to action experienced by the user, and not like a shopping experience.
Unmoderated, 10-15 minutes.
Italy, rented space.
5 aspiring pet owners, aged 29 to 56.
Book an experience day with a pet from your matches.
Ensure that all steps of the flow are free from confusing elements.
A first round of usability testing highlighted some ambiguous elements in the main flow, as well as a poorly implemented continue later feature in the questionnaire.
Responsive
Website
The playfulness and optimism of a pet adoption are mirrored in visual choices such as bright gradients on a pastel background.
Subtle shadows and generous white space establish hierarchy and allow the accent colours to breathe, giving Sidekick's UX a feel of solid reliability.
Sidekick's development has been a lesson in balancing competing priorities. Small design decisions can encourage or discourage certain user behaviours, so it's important to make prudence and thoughtfulness the natural choices for our users if that is what aligns with our product's mission.
Animals shelters face infrastructural and personnel issues that won't be solved by any one service. But certain features can mitigate these pitfalls by leveraging existing offerings. Experience days could be broadcasted and compiled into a catalogue of best practices. This content could be housed in a new section of the site that also includes helpful articles, resources, and blog posts for both current and prospective pet owners.
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