Meowmate
Designing a swipe-based mobile platform that helps users discover, connect with, and adopt cats in need of homes, blending familiar dating-app interactions with emotionally engaging adoption listings.
01 — Problem
Adopting a pet is often a fragmented and emotionally overwhelming process.
Traditional adoption platforms fail to meet users where they are. Three core gaps drive this disconnect.
Limited Visibility for Animals
Many cats are listed with minimal photos or descriptions, making it hard for them to stand out or for users to understand their personalities.
Low Emotional Engagement
Traditional adoption sites feel information-heavy rather than emotionally engaging, reducing connection and interest from potential adopters.
Mismatch with User Expectations
Younger users are accustomed to fast, intuitive experiences, but most adoption platforms feel outdated and unintuitive, creating friction in discovery.
02 — Research
Exploring current pet adoption sites
We audited three leading adoption platforms to understand the current landscape and identify where the experience breaks down.
We noticed several consistent issues across current adoption sites:
Vague Descriptions
Pet profiles often lack meaningful details about a cat's personality, behavior, and needs.
Missing Photos
Many listings include few or low-quality photos, limiting users' ability to form an emotional connection.
Limited Filtering
Search tools are often limited, making it difficult to narrow results by age, breed, temperament, location, or special needs.
03 — Empathize
Understanding our users' needs and pain points
We distributed an online survey to better understand user experiences and frustrations with the pet adoption process.
We asked participants:
Have you adopted a pet before?
How would you describe your experience with the adoption process?
What challenges, if any, have you faced while looking for a pet to adopt?
Are there any features you wish current pet adoption websites or apps had?
Our survey of 32 participants revealed:
found the adoption process to be difficult, ranking it a 1 on a scale from 1–5.
reported challenges finding cats that matched their preferences due to limited filtering options.
emphasized the significance of photos and detailed descriptions in making adoption decisions.
"I would like to see descriptions of cat personalities and recommendations on what type of family or adopter is suitable."
Survey RespondentHow might we create a mobile experience that makes cat adoption feel personal, engaging, and effortless, for both adopters and shelters?
04 — Visual Identity
A warm, playful palette designed to feel welcoming
A lively palette of oranges and greens creates a warm, inviting feel.
A modern sans-serif typeface and minimalistic components, accented with pops of color to keep the interface fresh, friendly, and easy to navigate.
05 — Final Solution
A mobile adoption platform designed for both adopters and shelters
Meowmate bridges the gap between people looking to adopt and shelters looking for loving homes, with a seamless, emotionally engaging experience on both sides.
From the adopter's perspective, Meowmate makes finding the right cat simple and enjoyable! With swipe-based browsing, helpful filters, and detailed profiles, the experience is fun, engaging, and stress-free.
Discover Cats
- Swipe-based browsing lets users feel a cat's personality before diving into the details.
- Rich profiles with multiple photos, personality tags, and care notes make each cat memorable.
- Smart filters by age, breed, temperament, and location surface genuine matches fast.
Manage Liked Cats
- Save and revisit cats you've hearted, organized for easy side-by-side comparison.
- Availability tracking keeps you in the loop if a cat's status changes.
- One-tap next steps let you message a shelter or schedule a visit directly from the list.
Message Center
- Direct messaging with shelters to ask questions and schedule meet-and-greets.
- Per-cat threads keep conversations organized and easy to follow up on.
- Status updates from shelters surface directly inside each thread.
From the shelter's perspective, Meowmate makes it easy to post and manage cat profiles, track engagement, and communicate with adopters through an intuitive and streamlined interface.
Add a Cat
- Guided profile creation with prompts for photos, personality tags, and care requirements.
- Photo-first layout with a requirement of 5 photos ensures a comprehensive set of images, giving adopters a clear picture of each cat.
- Personality tags help shelters communicate a cat's character at a glance.
Manage Listings
- Dashboard overview of all posted cats with status, inquiry count, and adoption progress.
- Engagement metrics surface which profiles are generating the most interest.
- Bulk actions make it easy to update multiple listings or mark cats as adopted.
Edit Profiles
- Inline editing lets staff update profiles directly from the listing view, without navigating away.
- Engagement trends allow staff to view how each profile is performing and adjust accordingly.
- Real-time updates to cat details, photos, and availability keep listings fresh and accurate.