Harish - Tiny Tails Product Design Case Study

Who does a five star rating actually help?

Industry

Professional networking and services

Timeline

5 months

Role

Product Designer, freelance

Context

A marketplace only works if both sides believe it.

On one side are people who need a skilled professional this week. On the other are professionals who are good at their trade but are found almost entirely through word of mouth. Workss had to serve both at once.

I designed the whole experience, from the first research conversation to the final screens. That meant understanding the problem, shaping how the app is organised, designing how people interact with it, and building the visual system, all around the hardest problem any marketplace faces: getting people who have never met to trust each other.

sides of the marketplace, designed together in one product

people interviewed in person, two seekers and two professionals

insights that survived affinity mapping and shaped the product

journeys the final design is built around

Community

Activity

Progress

Rewards

01 / The problem

Pet parents love staying active. Routines are hard to keep.

Problem 01

Progress feels invisible

🐕

Walk completed

❓

Am I actually improving?

📉

Motivation drops

Problem 02

Tracking feels like a chore

📱

Open app

📍

Track activity

🚪

Close app

Problem 03

Goals lack motivation

10,000 steps

❌ A number isn't always motivating.

Problem 04

Pet parents already love sharing

💬 "My dog finally completed a 5 km walk!"

💬 "Look at her progress this month 🐾"

02 / The solution

Turn pet activity into a connected motivation loop.

01 / 04 — Community Feed

Progress feels invisible

The daily open layer, discover, share, stay connected.

Share pet moments

Discover milestones

Stay connected

02 / 04 — Walk Tracker

Connect individual actions

Profile, activity, weight and goals, in one place.

Walk → Updates

Progress → Unlocks

Rewards → Encourages

Sharing

03 / 04 — Walk Tracker

Make progress visible

Start and track a walk, turned into measurable progress.

❌ A number isn't always motivating.

❌ A number isn't

always motivating.

Clear progress

Achievable goals

Meaningful milestones

Badges & Leaderboard

Make progress visible

Celebrate milestones, compare progress if you want to.

Walk completed

Streak updated

Badge unlocked

Motivation increases

03 / Discovering the opportunity

I didn't start with screens. I started with patterns.

User interviews

Affinity mapping

Competitor analysis

Product opportunities

User interviews

Activity trackers data, feels transactional

Social platforms engagement, no routine

If I can see we're improving, I'm more likely to keep doing it.

Progress needs to feel visible.

Sharing what my dog is doing already makes the app more interesting.

Motivation needs emotional feedback.

A badge or streak gives me a reason to not break the routine.

Sharing already happens naturally.

Affinity mapping

Motivation

Need a reason to keep going

Small wins matter

Progress

Can't tell if it's working

Want to see change

Routine

Forget to log walks

Already busy enough

Community

Love sharing pet pics

Want to meet other owners

Rewards

Badges feel fun

Streaks keep me honest

The strongest pattern wasn't a tracking problem. It was a motivation problem.

A community feed that gives a reason to return daily.

Consistency rewarded through badges and a leaderboard.

Walk tracking simple enough to fit an existing routine.

Weight and walk goals visible, so progress feels real.

Competitor Analysis

Puppr

Dog training & care

✓ Well structured training content

✓ Easy to use

✗ Limited social features

✗ No walk tracking

✓ Well structured training content

✓ Easy to use

✗ Limited social features

✗ No walk tracking

Opportunity

Combine training, tracking, and social in one place.

FitBark

Activity tracker

✓ Accurate activity tracking

✓ Good data insights

✗ Boring UI

✗ No community engagement

✓ Accurate activity tracking

✓ Good data insights

✗ Boring UI

✗ No community engagement

Opportunity

Make tracking engaging with gamification and social connection.

DogLog

Health & medical

✓ Great for health records

✓ Medical reminders

✗ Outdated interface

✗ No social or discovery features

✓ Great for health records

✓ Medical reminders

✗ Outdated interface

✗ No social or discovery features

Opportunity

Enhance with modern UI and community features.

Instagram

Social platform

✓ Strong social community

✓ Easy content sharing

✗ Not pet focused

✗ No pet care tools

✓ Strong social community

✓ Easy content sharing

✗ Not pet focused

✗ No pet care tools

Opportunity

Offer a pet first social experience.

Wag

Dog walking

✓ Simple walk tracking

✓ Clean interface

✗ Only walk tracking

✗ No health or community features

✓ Simple walk tracking

✓ Clean interface

✗ Only walk tracking

✗ No health or community features

Opportunity

Expand beyond walks to become an all in one platform.

Activity focused apps

📊 Strong tracking

❌ Low emotional engagement

Community focused apps

💬 High engagement

❌ Weak routine support

Emotional

Individual

connected

Functional

Community apps

Tiny Tails

Activity apps

The opportunity was not another pet tracker.

It was a system that gives people a reason to keep going.

The opportunity was not another pet tracker.

It was a system that gives people a reason to keep going.

04 / Outcome

From isolated tracking to connected motivation.

Before

Traditional pet tracking

Open app

Track

View data

Leave

After

Tiny Tails

Open app

Community

Activity

Progress

Recognition

Sharing

Return

05 / Reflections

What this project taught me.

Features don't create habits.

Connected experiences do.

Features don't create habits.

Connected experiences do.

Data alone isn't motivating.

People need to see what progress means.

Data alone isn't motivating.

People need to see what progress means.

Good design isn't about adding more.

It's about connecting what already matters.

Good design isn't about adding more.

It's about connecting what already matters.

Contact

Contact

Contact