Simplifying Pre-Flight Prep for Dog Owners

The Problem

People flying to Canada with their dogs have to piece together information from airline websites, government pages, and online forums, and the information often conflicts. Less than 40% of dog owners understand Canada's pet import requirements (Ekos Research Associates, 2023), and the pet travel market is growing 8% annually (ICT Monitor Worldwide, 2025).

Based on our competitor research, we could not find a single product that brings airline rules, government requirements, and vaccination timelines together in one place.

How might we help first-time dog-traveling owners feel confident they've prepared correctly, without juggling different websites?

Goal

Create a simple and trustworthy mobile tool that helps first-time dog travelers understand what they need to prepare and feel more confident throughout the process.

This was a 12-week academic project scoped to research and mid-fidelity prototyping. It was not shipped, and the iterated design was not re-tested after the final round of changes.

Research

I contributed 2 literature reviews as part of the team's broader research effort, which included 6 literature reviews and 4 competitor analyses in total. I also conducted 2 of the 10 user interviews and worked with the full set of transcripts during synthesis.

What we heard repeatedly:

I did my own research, and also I compared different sources.

We actually got really curious about what the dog is doing at the airplane... Is he doing well? So, we were a little bit concerned about his health condition.

Patterns that came up repeatedly across interviews:

• Fragmented information across many sources
• Stress and uncertainty throughout the process
• Low trust in unofficial sources
• Confusion about differences between airlines
• The research process was time-consuming
• Worry about the dog's wellbeing in transit

Synthesis

I helped map all interview notes into an affinity diagram to find patterns. We then built a user journey map that showed where stress peaked and defined our main persona: "The Independent Planner," a tech-savvy, thorough dog owner who researches extensively but still feels anxious about making a mistake that could affect her dog.

The journey map showed stress peaking in the weeks before departure, when the number of tasks felt most overwhelming.Three core user needs emerged from this work: clarity, trust, and emotional support.

These three needs guided our design decisions in the next stage.

Ideation

Based on the three core needs, we used Crazy 8s, storyboards, task flow mapping, and a "golden path" to explore different ways to simplify the process and reduce the need to search across multiple websites.

We landed on a guided mobile tool that asks users targeted questions about their trip, then generates a personalized, timeline-based to-do list linked to official sources. The to-do list structure emerged because users needed sequencing: knowing when to do things was as important as knowing what to do.

We built a mid-fidelity iOS prototype covering the core flow: selecting departure country and city, entering passenger count, building a dog profile, choosing in-cabin or cargo, and generating a personalized to-do list organized by time before departure.

Usability Testing

I facilitated 2 of our 10 moderated usability sessions and took notes in 6 total. After each round, I helped the team identify patterns and prioritize fixes.

What testing revealed:

• The "in-cabin vs cargo" choice was confusing without context. Users didn't know the implications of choosing one over the other
• The to-do list felt long and overwhelming to read
• Users wanted more airline-specific information, not just general information
• External link icons were too small to notice
• Users were unsure whether the information was official or up to date

Hard to read on the to-do list page, so many text.

How to confirm the info is official and up to date?

Iteration

Based on the usability testing findings, I made targeted improvements to the design. I also made a few additional refinements to improve the overall flow and clarity.

My design decisions

Final Design

The final flow moves users through six screens:

1. Departure country/city
2. Passenger count (human + dog on one screen)
3. Airline selection
4. Dog profile
5. Cabin or cargo
6. Personalized to-do list

The to-do list is organized by time before departure (60, 30, 20, 10 days), uses accordion sections to make a long list easier to navigate, shows labeled links to official sources such as Government of Canada and airline policy pages, and displays a "Last updated" timestamp at the bottom.

The visual design uses a warm cream and blue palette with clear typographic hierarchy, designed to feel calm and trustworthy rather than urgent or clinical.

My Contributions

User Research. Contributed 2 literature reviews and conducted 2 of the 10 user interviews. Worked with the full set of interview transcripts during synthesis and helped identify the repeated user needs that became the 3 core insights guiding the first round of design decisions.

‍Prototyping Support. Co-created digital wireframes with Auto Layout, consistent spacing, and reusable components. Guided a teammate who was new to Figma through frames and components so everyone could contribute more independently.

‍Usability Testing. Facilitated 2 of 10 sessions and took notes in 6 total. Worked with the team to group patterns afterward and refine 3 main insights that shaped the next iteration.

‍Team Alignment. When the team debated design directions, I brought discussions back to specific research findings to keep decisions evidence-based and move faster.

‍Final Deliverables. Standardized typography, spacing, and hierarchy across slides and report. Designed the style tiles and completed revised UI screens for my individual prototype.

Reflection

Small UI changes can make a big difference. One thing I learned from this project is that improving an experience doesn't always mean adding more features. For example, changing the long to-do list into accordion sections was simply a different way of organizing the same information, but it directly addressed one of the main issues we found during testing. Better design isn't always more design.

‍Connecting research to design decisions. I became more aware of how important it is to connect design decisions back to research. The strongest decisions in this project were the ones we could clearly trace back to a user quote or repeated pattern. I also became more comfortable turning messy research notes into clear insights that the team could design around.

‍What I would do differently. I'd add a second round of usability testing on the iterated design to validate whether the changes actually reduced confusion and stress, practice facilitating more sessions myself, and find better ways to bring quieter teammates into ideation earlier. I'd also explore whether a progress indicator during onboarding would help users feel oriented in the flow.