Alex Hewitt
/
ux designer
Pet shelter digitisation.
The Jamaica Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (JSPCA) has been working in Jamaica to protect, defend and promote animal rights for over 100 years. Their digital brand lags behind the times and a conceptual solutions aims to advance their mission
Entire product design from research to conception, visualisation and testing
Approximately 6 weeks
The general public is misinformed or has misconceptions about the organisation, coupled with the fact that the digital brand is underwhelming; JSPCA needs to provide greater visibility of the work they do and services they provide in an effort to attract better support.
Revamp the digital experience to match the expectations of a chronically online public, and provide a platform that can support online processes that facilitate organisational growth.
JSPCA’s current (as of 2022) website doesn’t support many actionable processes and mainly serves as a brochure. This represents a problem in terms of soliciting veterinary services remotely, or accepting donations (the main pillars of the society’s operations).
No means of completing any meaningful process online, creating barriers for potential customers.
The website is covered with text blocks but there's a lot of writing that has little to no value.
Content on the site isn't organised or presented in meaningful or helpful ways.
A number of short-form interviews were conducted along with a survey of 50 individuals. Focus was on what people knew about JSPCA, if and how they’d be willing to donate and what they’d expect to be able to find out, or do, on the website.
Most participants didn’t know or were unsure of the animals they could adopt.
Majority of people are unaware of the scope of services offered.
Most participants expressed a willingness to make a donation at least once.
Awareness of outreach programs is fairly low, even for volunteering
At the end of the survey each participant was encouraged to give a response to the question “If you were to use a JSPCA app or website, what features would you be most interested in?”
Seeing the animals up for adoption, seeing prices for veterinary services, how to volunteer and what kind of services they need.
Easily scheduling an appointment, chat feature for simple issues to see if a visit is required, medical record available if signed in.
Make appointments, adoptions, lost pet announcements and seeing the progress of donation related projects.
Reporting potential animal abuse, general news or blog posts and planned outreach programmes.
Unsure scope of services, variety of animals and how donations are used.
Stated donation process is archaic and how to volunteer isn’t adequately explained.
Essential actions can't be carried out online, and getting info can be a challenge.
There’s so much that can be done to help, but people have to know what’s going on.
24 y/o
|
Marketing Manager
Introverted
Charitable
Outgoing
Tech-savvy
Give back to community
Getting info conveniently
Make regular donations
See volunteering opportunities
Info online is limited
Unable to donate online
Unsure state of organisation
Too much friction in trying to help
My pets need near-constant care, so If you provide a service, make it accessible.
41 y/o
|
Operations Executive
Orderly
Uncompromising
Caring
Professional
Online consultations
Make appointments online
View services & prices online
Communicate conveniently
Every service requires calling in
Unable to schedule online
Online contact is limited
Service info is limited
We reviewed the digital offerings of a local shelter and other charitable organisations to form a well-rounded image of where JSPCA needed to be. It also made sense to see how other societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals presented their websites.
Local shelter with much stronger online presence and high-impact outreach efforts.
Well-maintained website with adequate info, transparency and ways to conveniently donate.
The American society makes it extremely easy to donate and to see what animals need homes.
The British society shows how sponsorships help their cause, while providing plenty of donation options.
A mobile-first approach was applied to the initial designs in an attempt to first capture the key functionalities users required. Based on the Hows-Might-We, information architecture and rich content would be key in creating value for users.
Get a full rundown of a veterinary or surgical service your pet needs, and schedule appointments at your convenience.
Introduction of JSPCA news items and/or blog-style posts to promote transparency and positively influence public perception.
More avenues for the public to provide donations or volunteer is key in advancing the cause of animal welfare.
It was imperative to get user feedback at the earliest stages of ideation with lo-fi prototypes and userflows. While we were on the right track, there were still some issues being overlooked.
Users still unsure where to find key pieces of info
Outreach programs shouldn't be categorised with services offered
Users expressed desire for convenient contact options, even if externally
Users need to be able to find whatever it is they need without having to think. The website adaptation should be as easy to use and navigate as the app, regardless of the added content or complexity.
Changing the emotional psychology surrounding JSPCA’s brand is critical in taking them forward. The organisation needs to be reputable and taken seriously, but also invoke feelings of charity, affection and hope.
Softer visuals and modern styling should make users feel invited and encouraged to play their part.
It’s imperative to allow donations to come in by multiple means, while giving users a sense of trust through transparency.
When the option of adoption becomes more visible and accessible, the realisation of JSPCA’s mission advances.
Full service visibility, find by categories, learn what’s ahead and set your appointment.
Expanding on the principles set by the app, but contextualised for a true web experience.
“This was a refreshing experience, love the app and especially the use of colour. Excited to download and read all those tips!”
The added functionality, refreshed visuals and increased usability was received extremely well amongst test participants, with many being pleased at the quality of information they can get from the platform.
Unfortunately, the true impact of this design could not be measured as it's only a concept solution to problems that are outside the scope of JSPCA.
The solution presented represents the ambition of JSPCA being able to adopt it, but certain features may be beyond their capabilities (those features could be reduced or removed).
Working closely with users at key stages not only ensured the correct issues were always prioritised, but that more time could be spent refining key flows and interactions.
User research may have been biased early on given the limited accessibility to certain user groups. The survey questions may also have been chosen unfavourably as it was fairly difficult to pin down exactly what was needed to get the appropriate insights.
Comparing industry adjacent organisations was an impactful approach that ended up contributing greatly to this project.
Information architecture is king; the way information is contained, labeled and found goes a long way in influencing usability.
User interviews should always be conducted regardless of the scope of problem. I opted to start the research process with a survey, but in doing so I started from zero with regards to insight. User interviews got to deeper problems, which then influence how the survey data was interpreted.
