Role
Product Designer
Deliverables
End to end Product Design
Pet-sitting platform to build trust and confidence for pet parents
My Role
I designed Keeper end-to-end, from user research and experience mapping to prototyping and UI design. I conducted interviews, defined core flows, and created features that help pet parents confidently book sitters they can trust.
Summary
“Despite the $2.4B pet-sitting market, pet parents hesitate to book sitters online due to lack of trust, inconsistent qualifications, and safety concerns.
Solution
Keeper: Trained and reliable sitters
Feature #1
History, Stats and Photos
Feature #2
Trained Sitters
Feature #3
Tailor to your pet
Sitter’s profile gives brief info about them including their service’s satisfaction rate from previous jobs done.
All sitters are required to undergo training to learn best practices for handling pets. Trainers with advanced training can be hired for special needs.
Let the sitter know of your pet’s schedule by adding a message or instructions for them.
Diving deeper
With growing concerns around pet sitter safety, I interviewed 20 pet parents to understand what makes them feel confident in a sitter—and how trust, safety, and accountability shape their decisions.
Diving deeper
Research Summary
Pet parents don’t trust sitter platforms, they worry about sitters misrepresenting themselves, lacking the right qualifications, or not taking proper care of their pets.
Reliability & Qualification concerns
Pet parents feel hesitant to hire pet sitters from apps and prefer to rely on family members.
Pain Point #1
“I don't trust pet sitters I can hire on pet-sitting platforms, I've read many bad stories and can’t imagine something like that happening with my dog.”
James, Pet Parent
Age 45
Pet’s comfort and Routine
The expectation is to take them for walks and play with them as per the pet’s regular schedule.
Pain Point #2
“My dog needs regular medication and exercise. I need to know that they have the necessary skills to handle this.”
Sarah, Pet Parent
Age 36
Pain Point #3
Safety concerns
Pet parents are concerned about the safety of their pet and their belongings.
Unfortunately, I had a sitter who seemed great at first but then neglected my pet’s routine. My dog was very stressed when I returned, and it took a few days for things to get back to normal.
Lisa, Pet Parent
Age 44
Design problem statement to guide us through the ideation
How might we help pet parents confidently book sitters they can trust—by ensuring sitters are qualified, reliable, and attentive to their pet’s unique routines and care needs?
Ideation
While exploring ideas, I came up with the concept of a pet-sitting platform that focuses on these 3 functionalities to resolve pet parents’ concerns.
History, Stats, and Photos
Allowing pet owners to see the history of their pet sitter along with stats and photos from previous jobs would help resolve this.
Mandatory Training
Before sitters join the platform, mandatory training for pet sitters would reassure pet owners and boost their confidence in booking sitters.
Custom Instructions
Pet parents can leave instructions for the sitter to ensure the pet’s medication and routine needs are being met.
I tested Keeper with pet parents and pet sitters and received positive feedback. There was interest in using a product like this as a method to solve their issues around booking sitters.
Measuring Impact
Initially, I believed existing market solutions were effective for this issue. However, through research and conversations with pet owners, I discovered their flaws and gained insight into why trust is lacking in these platforms which helped me design Keeper.
Takeaways
Nacho - Inspiration behind Keeper