Park Hound App
Project Type: Mobile app design
Project Overview
As a dog owner, I know the struggle of wanting more than just a walk around the block with my dog, sometimes you need a proper dog park where they can run around and burn off energy. However, finding the right dog park can be a hassle, involving endless searching, reading reviews, and trying to figure out which park is suitable for an off-leash run.
The goal of this project was to create an app that lets dog owners easily find nearby dog parks, view user reviews, ratings, and photos, and make informed decisions on where to take their dogs for a run without having to search through various sources.
Team
- Design team (myself)
- Product owner (myself)
- Community (dog owners)
Role
- Product design
- UX research
- Prototyping and testing
- Feature strategy
- Tech research
Tools
- Figma
- Photoshop
- Illustrator
- Sublime text editor
The Problem
The challenge was that there wasn’t a single, reliable source to find dog parks that included all the information dog owners need to make a decision. Existing solutions were either fragmented or lacking important details, like real-time updates or user driven insights about the park experience.
The app needed to be a one-stop shop where users could quickly find nearby parks, read reviews, view ratings, see photos, and even get insights like how busy a park is or if it’s a good place for doggy playdates.
Project Process
After analysing the problem and existing solutions, I began brainstorming features for the app that would satisfy the minimum viable product (MVP) requirements. I started by designing low-fidelity wireframes to map out the core features and test them with dog owners.
Through user testing and iteration, I refined the design based on feedback. The key MVP features were designed to make park discovery simple, with an interactive map, search filters, and detailed park listings.
As I gathered more feedback, I added additional features like:
- Share Directions: Enabling users to invite others for doggy playdates
- Weather Updates: Helping users decide if it’s a good day for a park visit
- Foot Traffic API: Powered by the Best Time app, providing live data on how busy a park is at any given moment, so users know if their dog will have playmates or get the park all to themselves.
Once I had validated these ideas with an interactive prototype, I moved forward with a high-fidelity design prototype. This version incorporated all the MVP features, as well as the additional insights gained during testing. The next step is to prepare it for development, with plans for continuous iteration and feature additions based on user feedback.
Responsibilities & Contributions
- Conducted market research to identify gaps in current dog park solutions
- Ran user research to understand the needs of dog owners
- Researched technology options to integrate live foot traffic data and other useful features
- Designed wireframes and prototypes for user testing
- Conducted multiple rounds of user testing to refine features and design
- Created a high-fidelity design prototype for development
Outcome & Learnings
This app aims to solve a real problem for dog owners by giving them an easy, accessible platform to find dog parks, read reviews, and get real-time insights like park busy-ness and weather updates. The interactive prototype and ongoing user feedback have led to a more refined design that aligns with user needs.
Looking forward, I plan to continue iterating on the design, adding new features, and gathering user feedback to keep improving the experience. It’s been exciting to see how small adjustments based on user insights can have such a big impact on the overall experience.
