UI/UX Design – Connected Experience
Project Brief
Pet Buddy recently announced their newest pet tracking product, Smart Track. It is an Alexa-enabled tracking product for your beloved four-legged companions. Besides the primary function of location tracking using GPS connected device, Smart Track can also track body temperature, sleep pattern, and heart rate using a sensor. This technology lets pet owners see their pets’ daily activities and health data while away from home, potentially catching early signs of illnesses. The sensor will also connect to other devices, including a mobile app allowing users to see the data tracked from the device, create an invisible fence that alerts owners once their pets get out, and build a community that shares common interests about their pets. If their pet gets lost, people can scan the QR code on the tag to get information about the pet and contact its owner.
Timeline
Oct 31 – Ideation and Discussion
Nov 13 – Press Release
Nov 20 – Multi-Model Flowchart & Component Table
Dec 11 – Demo Video & Case Study
Connected UX ecosystem design
Persona
Busy pet owners (dogs & cats) who work outside of their homes for long hours and do not have a pet sitter.
Feedback
Overall, people think this is a useful idea, and it would be nice if it was to become an actual product. I got feedback about the tracker’s functions, such as heart rate tracking and sleep patterns, and I tried to incorporate them into my brief and demo. At this early stage of the design process, it was hard to tell where I could improve, but they thought this design had potential.
Demo Video
Retrospective
What was most challenging about creating a connected UX product concept?
The ideation process was the hardest part. So many products are available on the market, so finding one that is new and would attract customers is quite a challenge.
What part of this project did you enjoy most? What part of this project did you enjoy least?
I enjoyed working and learning new skills, so working on a connected experience design was very interesting. Video editing and motion graphic are not my strongest skills. However, I learned a lot from finding new ways to create a short demo by incorporating different design elements.
How was your creative process challenged by this project? What were the similarities in how you approached this project and other digital design projects? What were the differences?
Compared to other UI/UX projects, this project is quite different. We had to write a Press Release and make a video demo for the first time. I did not have to design an end-to-end product which saved a lot of time, but also made it a little confusing since all the ideas were in. my head but not something I could look at and test out. However, the similarities are in the design process with ideation, research, feedback, and iteration.
What new challenges did you face when communicating and prototyping your connected UX product? How did you overcome them?
Since this project is not a finished product, it was hard to internally process what needed to be done and what needed to be included in the prototyping and demoing. I did a lot of research on previous students’ works and tried to conceptualize how I wanted to approach this project. It was difficult, but after some intense working hours, I produced a final demo video that met all the requirements.
Between designing for digital and designing a connected experience, which do you prefer? Why?
I have always enjoyed digital designs, but the connected experience is also interesting. I prefer digital designs better, but I think designing connected experiences has excellent potential. I’d be more likely to enjoy this area better with more practice and exposure.
For this project, you had to simultaneously focus on an original concept, physical/digital interaction, and movie magic. How did you juggle those responsibilities? Which were your strengths? Which can you improve on, and how will you work on those areas of improvement in future projects?
I mostly struggled with the motion graphics part since it was not my strong suit. My strongest skills are definitely ideating, illustrating, and creating user flows. However, I don’t think it is realistic for any designer to be multi-verse in all design disciplines, so I did not feel a lot of pressure in making the perfect demo. Though, I’d like to improve my motion graphic and video editing to achieve the desired outcome for my future videos. I’d also love to learn more about designing for connected experiences because it seems to be a new field with much potential for UI/UX designers.
Mimi Nguyen's Design 