The goal of this group project was to develop a mobile app concept pitch and create an interactive Figma mockup for a pet health & wellness app named PetPal. This project aimed to identify the target market, establish a monetization strategy & potential revenue streams, and outline the app's features and functionality through thorough research.

This was a term project for the App Development strategy course at BCIT. The goal of the project was to come up with a concept of a mobile app and develop a detailed app pitch, including wireframes and an interactive Figma mockup.

We worked on this project as a team of 4. Team members and their responsibilities:

Inna Poskhova - User persona, scenario, empathy map, user flow, wireframes, interactive Figma mockup, define app’s features, user & organizational goals, market viability assessment.
Ethel Gomez - Style guide, data exchange, identify OS for the app, description of the team needed for the app, approach to the app development.
Kurtis Cutting - Competitive analysis, how we plan to compete & potential revenue streams.
Jessica Arora - Ways to market the app, value proposition, onboarding process & navigation patterns.

We developed the concept for PetPal, a health & wellness app for pet owners to track their pets’ health, exercise routine, nutrition, and overall well-being.

To achieve the project goal I divided my contributions to the project by the 3 main phases: Market Assessment, Brainstorming and Drafting & Designing.

First, I had to determine the market viability to help us understand if there is a place for the new app in the niche of pet-wellness apps, as well as identify the market trends and opportunities. I conducted research on the pet care market, identifying growth trends and shifts towards more conscious pet care practices. Specifically, I analyzed industry reports from sources like the American Pet Products Association (APPA) and IBISWorld, and reviewed market research studies from Statista and Pet Business. According to a report by Grand View Research, the global pet care market size was valued at USD 207.90 billion in 2020 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.9% from 2021 to 2028. Additionally, the APPA reported that pet industry expenditures in the United States alone reached $123.6 billion in 2021. The findings showed a growing demand for pet wellness apps, confirming a promising market for PetPal.

After I assessed the market viability, I analyzed PetPal’s organizational goals to ensure the app supports the company’s mission and objectives. The mission of PetPal is to have a positive impact and influence positive changes in pet care practices, and their objectives were to get a loyal user base and generate revenue.

The next step was to identify user goals, to ensure our app has all the necessary features to satisfy the users' needs and preferences. Based on research and competitive analysis made by our team member Kurtis, who studied companies such as FitBark, Puppr, Whistle, Televet, and PAWSM, I identified user goals like education, convenience, community building, and pet wellness support. These companies were chosen because they represent a diverse range of services and features within the pet care market, providing a comprehensive understanding of current trends and user expectations.

The last step in this phase was to identify the app's noteworthy features to ensure the app offered unique and valuable functionalities. Based on the research made up to this point, as well as the competitive analysis conducted by Kurtis, I identified features that would set PetPal apart. These included personalized pet profiles, health tracking, recipe recommendations, training guides, and wellness tips. I focused on features that addressed gaps in competitor apps and aligned them with user needs.

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In the second phase, I focused on understanding potential users, their behaviors, and motivations to create a user-centered design.

I started with developing a user persona, specifically targeting individuals aged 25-30 with no children and a good income, as they are likely to give pets extra attention and have the financial capacity to spend on such apps. This persona was created to ensure the app resonates with users and meets their needs. To create an accurate user persona, I identified our app’s target demographics, researched potential users' motivations and behaviors, and referred to the user goals determined in Phase 1.

Based on the user persona, I created a scenario to visualize how users might interact with the app. Then, I created an empathy map to understand user emotions, thoughts, and feelings. The empathy map for the user persona included information detailing what the user says, thinks, does, and feels during their interaction with the app. This helped in identifying pain points, needs, and desires, ensuring a design that truly resonates with the app’s users.

The last step of Phase 2 was to create a user flow. Mapping out user interactions helped visualize the user experience and identify key touchpoints. I designed a user flow diagram outlining the steps users would take to sign up and log in to the app, as well as complete the onboarding process. This user flow ensured the app would have smooth navigation and helped me identify the essential elements needed for the onboarding, login, and sign up processes.

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The final phase involved translating gathered research insights into design, while also relying on the collaborative efforts of my team members.

Using Figma, I drafted wireframes that served as the blueprint for our mobile app, determining the app's layout, features, functionalities, and essential elements. After completing the wireframes, I gathered feedback from my team members. Their feedback included suggestions to simplify the onboarding process into 3 main steps. Based on this feedback, I refined the wireframes making the onboarding process simpler, by removing unnecessary steps and adding feedback for users that tells them how many steps the onboarding process will take.

Next, I turned the wireframes into a high-fidelity mockup, providing a detailed visual representation of the final app design. I incorporated branding elements and images from the style guide created by Ethel in Illustrator. I also integrated the navigation patterns developed by Jessica, ensuring a smooth and intuitive user experience.

The last step was to make the prototype interactive. I linked the screens and components to create a clickable prototype, demonstrating the app’s functionality and navigation. This was essential for gathering user feedback and iterating on the design.

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The final deliverables included a comprehensive research document with all our group findings, a design document including style guide, user persona, scenario, empathy map and user flow, wireframes and high-fidelity interactive Figma prototype. I ensured that the Figma files were well-organized, with logically labeled layers and components to facilitate future updates.

The project goal of developing a mobile app concept pitch and interactive Figma mockup for a pet wellness app was successfully achieved. The result was an interactive prototype that demonstrates a deep understanding of user needs, and applying UX design principles. This project highlights my ability to conduct extensive research, work collaboratively in a team, and create user-centric designs, making it a valuable addition to my professional portfolio.