— muttnik —

app design

duration : 8 weeks | solo project

How might we increase social levels of—and variety of experiences for—our dogs? Muttnik, an app providing information about dog-friendly places, utilizing “Missions” to provide a sense of adventure and exploration.

During conversations with dog owners, it became apparent that they wanted their dogs to socialize more, but weren’t sure how to do that. For the most part, they had fallen into a routine: going on the same walks and visiting the same parks and establishments.

At first, the information gleaned from those interviews pointed in a direction where a geo-social component would be dominant. This would allow users to “see” when other users were, for example, at the nearby dog park.

But as the idea of a geo-social app started to take form and was brought to those very same users previously interviewed, there was a surprising resistance to the use of GPS to share their location, even if users had control over who, if any, could see their location.

screens

Since the app is supposed to elicit fun, I wanted the design to be playful. The visual design mimics the Soviet space program and therefore uses space imagery as well as the Soviet colors red and yellow.

The app includes a full onboarding process that includes a 3-panel “story” as well as indicating what a user’s dog likes and dislikes.

The first Mission is for “Basic Training” which, when completed, unlocks additional Missions. This serves to not only get users out with their dogs, but also acts as a tutorial for how to use the app.

Personas

Interviewing additional dog owners residing in L.A. County helped create 3 distinct personas: The Dog Walker, The New L.A. Transplant, and The Energetic Puppy Companion.

Comparative Analysis

To better understand how social and geo-social elements were being used, several apps were studied for their structure and attributes.

competitive analysis

Because the app changed its focus to be more about gamification, only using GPS when users wanted to access maps to help find sites, I tested several competitive apps, including Bark Happy, Bring Fido, and Dog Land.

Wireframes