Squeaky Clean Paws
Case Study UX Design Visual Design
The Product:
Squeaky Clean Paws is an interactive scheduling app/ website suited for Dog Owners and Groomers to make booking easier, efficient, and stress-free. It also provides a tracking feature to view the status and approximate time on when the user’s dog is ready for pickup.
Duration:
App Development: May 2022- November 2022
Website Development: January 2023- March 2023
Role:
UX + Visual Designer, Researcher
The Problem:
With the uptick of new and adopted dogs during the COVID pandemic, many local grooming salons are booming with new clients. Some small business salons have their phone line as their only means of communication with their clients, so it is frustrating for both parties when the phone lines are constantly busy.
The Goal:
Squeaky Clean Paws is designed to help make booking, rescheduling and canceling appointments easier and efficient, thus relieving the load of incoming calls/ inquiries.
User Research- Summary
Through the research I’ve conducted, I was able to understand both general pain points the user group shared, and some pain points that were exclusive to each user as an individual. An overall theme I’ve encountered was that most users loved the idea of supporting their local businesses, in this case, their Dog Grooming Salon, but found the process of calling and waiting to be a chore.
Despite calling it a chore, I was surprised to find out that most were willing to stick with the local salon they trust; I assumed that this wasn’t the case initially, so it was a neat little find in my research. I was able to conjure up problem statements for the personas I created, summing up the most common themes I've found in my interviews.
1
Time
From the users I’ve interviewed, many have varying work schedules and would like an app/website that would be fast and easy to navigate. The sequential progress to book a grooming appointment for busy dog owners should be straightforward to minimize user frustration.
2
Engagement
Users will need an interface that is vibrant, engaging and fun to use; having an easy to read font along with images will encourage users of all ages to fiddle around and learn the app.
3
Reliability
Users need an app/website that will time and time again provide the same, consistent process and end goal: successfully booking an appointment. A “recently visited” and “favorites” tab will also expedite the process for future use.
4
Accessibility
A large chunk of users interviewed requested easy to read fonts because of visual impairments- nothing too fancy; keep it simple, clean and straightforward.
Having a language selection option would be very useful for bilingual/multilingual users who we want to feel included.
“I probably hold up the phone line calling every hour about my boys. I need to know what my little guys are doing.” (laughs)
-John Jacob J.
"I love the convenience of the big box stores like Petco and all, but I'd love to support my local dog groomers; there has to be a better portal for making appointments."
-Samantha Young
Starting the Design
Paper Wireframes
I wanted a personalized homepage whenever the user signs back into their account. “Welcome Back!” always sounds inviting!
As an artist, my end goal is to convey as much information as possible through the use of images to help guide users along their journey. Photos in conjunction with menu options will give users an immediate idea of what’s to be expected once it’s selected.
Digital Wireframes
My very first iteration of the home page wanted to include as many visual assets as possible to convey a clear path to each user flow as much as possible; New search would include a magnifying glass to represent “search,” reschedule would include a calendar icon, and the grooming tracker would use a clock/ timer icon. Those who are visually impaired, (or those who depend on screen readers) would have the “alt text to image” function describing each.
It was very important for me to allow users to have more than one way to complete a desired action; no one way is wrong!
Having multiple quick-click options on the homepage means that busy pet owners of all backgrounds can complete their specified tasks in a straightforward fashion.
Usability Study: Findings
Round 1 Findings
Round 2 Findings
1- Users want more one-click options to expedite their usual tasks in the app.
2- Users want multiple ways to complete a task. The leave a review feature was hard to find initially, forcing some participants to give up.
3- Users found the designs to be fairly straightforward overall.
1- Users appreciate the one-click options; most tasks using the feature were completed in seconds.
2- 1 participant found some color choices hard to read; using white on lighter colored backgrounds were the culprit.
3- Back button on pages needs to be more responsive/ larger and possibly labeled; 2 out of 5 participants had trouble finding the button and had to click on it more than once to complete the action.
The Solution
The high-fidelity prototypes demonstrated a more in-depth user flow where each frame includes a straightforward, easy to understand app for all. I was able to replicate that again for the desktop/ website version; having multiple ways to complete a task was crucial in my early iterations so it was a smooth transition to ensure a simple, yet efficient design all around.
Throughout the usability studies, the prototypes were very well received regarding ease of use, and I want to continue that path going forward with future design projects.
Accessibility Considerations
1
Visual Cues
Used icons on multiple buttons to help users understand what each button/option represents, which helps with navigation in the app.
2
Alt Text
Made sure images along with captions are alt text compatible for those who are dependent on screen readers.
3
Color blindness Tested
Altered clashing color palettes (fonts & backgrounds) to meet accessibility standards.
During the initial phases of visual design, I chose a color palette using shades of blue, purple and teal to seek out a strong brand identity. Some of the colors used however had issues with contrast on some backgrounds which would prove problematic when meeting accessibility standards.
Learning about the color blindness test, and emphasizing on inclusivity influenced revisions in some of the color choices I’ve made in my previous designs.
Takeaways
Impact:
Squeaky Clean Paws has received positive feedback regarding ease of use, making appointment booking a breeze. It was my initial goal to develop an easy to use app/website catered to all, and it feels great to know one of my goals was accomplished.
What I've Learned:
Usability studies and user feedback is such a powerful tool; both minor and major details are often overlooked because of designer bias. Having an extra set of eyes and opinions is and will always be helpful!
Next Steps
1
Conduct further user research to determine what additional features (NextPaw, a variant of NextDoor) may be helpful in the future.
2
Use this research and conduct usability studies to find out if the features are proven useful for users.