Timeline

Nov 2023 - Jan 2024 (12 weeks)

SOLUTION

Role

Student project for Google UX Certificate Program

Enhancing transparency through open prices and reviews

WHITE PAPER RESEARCH

Tools

Figma, After Effects

Transparency is lacking between pet owners and vet clinics

Thus, my journey to finding a solution started with a following question;

PROBLEM

As a pet owner, vet prices are still a grey area that makes me wonder every time i leave my vet— “Am i being fairly charged for the services that my pet received?”

Not having the right resources to be able to answer this question is the struggle that a lot of pet owners share in common. Vet prices are not regulated and vary a lot across different clinics so ultimately it’s up to us, pet owners, to find the right vet clinic that can cater to our budget and our pet’s needs the best.

Find the right specialists

  • Search and filter clinics by symptoms, specialists and pets.

  • Find clinics that have ample experience working with pets just like yours

Finances is one of the main reasons why 28% of the pets do NOT receive the care that they need

Providing veterinary care for our pets is costly and due to the fact that vet bills are not being regulated, the prices differ by clinics a lot. So, how does this affect pet owners and their pets? In the US, almost 28 percent of low-income households with pets experienced barriers to veterinary care, with finances being the most common reason. A recent study in the UK also found that vet bills have risen faster than the rate of inflation in the UK, increasing financial pressure for pet owners.

These findings made me hypothesize;

If pet owners can efficiently find clinics that they can afford, more pets will get the care that they need

COMPARATIVE ANAYLYSIS

We simply don’t have the right tool in the market

While baring the above statistics in mind, I looked into some of the direct and indirect competitors to learn how they’re currently helping pet owners navigate to find the right clinics within their budget.

Out of 5 competitors, only 1 app showed average prices for common vet services but even those prices were only accounting for small breeds of dogs, lacking wider coverage for types and sizes of pets.

USER INTERVIEWS

My interviewees spend days comparing reviews before deciding which clinic is right for them and their pet

I’ve interviewed three pet owners to hear more about their experiences around vet bills and pain points in finding vet clinics. My interviewees were carefully chosen to include wider range of age/size of pets, vet clinic history, and household incomes. Below is a list of interview questions and their answers were gathered and analyzed through affinity mapping.

Interview Questions:

  1. How often do you take your pet to see a vet?

  2. What is your current process of finding a clinic?

  3. What are your top criteria when it comes to choosing a clinic?

  4. How much information do you have about bills before going into a clinic?

  5. How do the vet bills influence your choice of choosing a clinic?

  6. Do you face any challenges with vet bills, if so, what are they?

  7. Is there any way in which you think this could be improved?

MAJOR INSIGHTS

Prices and reviews are the most important factors when it comes to choosing a clinic

From my interviewees, 32 data points were gathered— the main trend was that while finding the best practitioners was their main goal, they achieve this task by filtering out good reviews and comparing vet prices.

Theme 1: Trust

dESIGN INTERATIONS

Major iterations I’ve made

Total 5 iterations were done throughout the Lo-Fi and Hi-Fi design processes, and below are some of the major improvements that i iterated after receiving feedback from my colleagues and mentor.

FINAL DESIGNS

Full Prototype

Style Guide

Typography

Grid

Major Insights

  • Being able to trust the care providers plays a huge role when deciding which vet clinics is the best for them and their pet

  • Not knowing the price make them hard to decide if they’re fairly charged

  • The uncertainty add more distrust towards the practitioners

TAKEAWAYS

Color Palette

What I’d do differently next time 🦋

It was an extensive but truly rewarding experience where i was able to follow the design process from identifying problems to providing a solution for the first time! [Insert a pat on the shoulder] I would like to end this case study with a few things i’ve learned along the process.

  1. Ask for feedback from diverse roles: I asked for feedback from total of 7 colleagues who are in the tech industry(Product Designers, UX Researchers, Software Engineers) and it was very insightful and helpful in understanding my designs objectively from different perspectives. Since collaborative work is an essential part of UI/UX design, it’s always beneficial to ask for diverse feedback as much as i can.

  1. Don’t doubt my decisions too much: It’s really easy to get caught up with my own decisions and start doubting myself in hopes of finding the best solution at all times. Every time i was doubting myself i went back to my research findings including user interviews, HMW, and main insights to reiterate my goal and trust my own decisions to provide the right solutions for my target users through my designs.

  2. Put accessibility up front: I truly believe accessibility should be considered along the whole design process rather than to be considered right before launching a product because we often times end up extending solutions to a lot more people this way. I put accessibility in mind throughout the design process and chose appropriate text/color contrast. Going forward, i hope to put more focus and ensure that people with disabilities will have a great user experience navigating my designs to create an equitable experience for everyone.

  3. Test with users: If i had more time, conducting a round of usability testing would’ve been extremely helpful to see whether my UI elements are easy to use or if my IA is concise enough to promote effective navigation for users. A/B testing would’ve also helped a lot in deciding the best possible UI options from multiple variants that I created during iterations.

Theme 2: Comparison

  • Want to feel a peace of mind knowing how much to expect

  • Prefer a clinic with experiences working with pets similar to theirs

  • Information available online does not cater to the unique characteristics of their pets

  • Initially price list didn’t exist and reviews were an only source of information

  • I iterated so that users can see prices in one screen and directly locate to relevant reviews

My interviewees spend lots of time and effort researching prices and reviews to find the best option for their pet and budget

  • List cards used to show brief clinic introductions

  • I empathized with user insights and concluded that it wasn’t the type of information that’s attractive for them

  • Instead i put main keywords up front so that users can have a quick idea of each clinic

Components

Elevation

Theme 3: Best Treatment

  • Sensitive about vet prices, but willing to go the extra length if they could provide the best treatment

  • Not enough information that can help them determine the best clinics for their pet

  • Will spend time and effort researching to find the right clinics that they can trust

2. Linking reviews with price list

3. Keyword based list cards

  1. Addition of tags in profile

  • Originally, I had users locate reviews with similar pet types only through keyword searching

  • Upon feedback, I decided it would be quicker and more accurate to identify pet types as tags in profile and offer “Apply my pet’s data” feature in searching.

Find clinics that can cater to you and your pet

  • Find clinics that are in line with your budget

  • Apply your pet’s data and read reviews that are relevant for you

  • Ensure your pet gets the care they need within your budget

Compare prices and services

  • Transparency around vet prices per various breeds and sizes

  • Read reviews from real users with receipts

  • Know exactly how much to expect before a visit - a peace of mind for all pet owners