UX for Vet Burnout Relief

Pawpal was my capstone project for the UX Design Diploma at BrainStation. Over ten weeks, I explored an indirect route to a serious problem: could better-informed pet owners reduce empathy fatigue among veterinarians? The result was a mobile app that meets owners before they even adopt.

The Problem

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a significant increase in pet ownership, highlighting a growing problem: many new pet owners lacked important knowledge about preventative pet care. Combined with a veterinarian shortage in British Columbia, this created increased pressure on veterinary clinics and contributed significantly to empathy fatigue among veterinary professionals.

Interviews with pet owners and veterinarians pointed the same way: owners needed reliable information, and they needed it earlier than anyone was giving it to them.

Research & Insights

Through qualitative interviews and extensive desk research, I identified a gap early in the pet care journey. Many pet owners felt unsupported and uninformed right from the outset, long before their first veterinary visit.

This led me to ask: "How might we better equip pet owners with the knowledge they need to care effectively for their pets?"

My hypothesis: providing pet owners with a tool to increase awareness and improve communication with veterinarians would reduce empathy fatigue among vets. In a ten-week capstone there was no way to actually measure vet burnout, so the honest framing is that this stayed a hypothesis. What I could test was the step before it: whether owners could find the information they needed and arrive at appointments better prepared, and that's what the testing below focused on.

Personas and experience maps kept the project anchored to real owners rather than hypothetical ones.

User persona, pet owner

Experience map

Design Strategy

The flow had one job: meet a worried owner with a clear next step. Everything in it traces back to something an owner said in research.

User flow diagram

Sketching & Early Concepts

Before prototyping digitally, I sketched out the visual structure and interactions. I analysed existing UI best practices from health, education, and pet care apps, which informed my design decisions. Each sketch focused on creating an intuitive, informative, and reassuring user experience.

Early sketches and concept exploration

Prototyping & Testing

With initial sketches in place, I progressed to low-fidelity prototyping, prioritising accessibility, clarity, and ease of use.

Low-fidelity prototype screens

Early user tests revealed users struggled to find information about pet ailments. I refined the prototype to simplify information discovery based on these insights.

Refined prototype, ailment search

Further testing highlighted users' needs around appointment scheduling and accessing appointment history. Using a prioritisation matrix, I improved these features significantly.

Prioritisation matrix and feature refinement

Final Product & Brand

With the product settled, I built the brand to match its temperament: calm, warm, and worth trusting.

Final product screens

Wordmark. The Pawpal logo was hand-drawn to create a personal, empathetic connection with users.

Pawpal wordmark

Colours & Typography. I chose complementary colours and clean, readable typography to keep the interface simple, approachable, and user-friendly.

Colour palette and typography system

Accessibility. Accessibility was central to my design approach. I ensured colour choices met AA contrast standards, with primary interactions meeting AAA standards to support a diverse user base.

Accessibility testing results

Interactive Prototype. The final prototype allowed users to search for common pet ailments, review their pet's appointment history, modify upcoming appointments, and receive tailored care tips.

Final interactive prototype screens

Expanding the Ecosystem

I also took Pawpal beyond the app itself, designing responsive marketing sites for desktop and mobile to introduce the product and earn the download.

Marketing website, mobile

Marketing website, desktop

Additionally, I prototyped an internal interface for veterinarians, allowing them to input notes that directly synced with the owner's app. This reduced repetitive questions during visits and supported continuity of care, enhancing the overall experience for both users and vets.

Veterinarian interface

Key Learnings

Pawpal taught me how to design for a problem where the person you're helping and the person you're trying to relieve are different people. The owner gets the app; the vet gets the benefit. Holding both in view without the product splitting in two was the real design challenge, and the vet-facing notes interface was where it finally clicked.

Behind every digital interaction is a real person trying to do their best, whether that's a worried owner at midnight or a vet on their tenth appointment of the day. And ultimately, it's all for the pets.