Megan McMullen

Timeline: Feb-Mar 2024
Role: Designer

The Challenge

Tidy Tails is a pet grooming app designed to help pet owners schedule grooming appointments easily. Our group project goal was to create a welcoming, intuitive interface that encourages users to explore features and book appointments effortlessly.

The app needed to enable intuitive appointment booking, reflect a friendly and playful brand personality, and remain accessible across devices.

My Contributions

As a key contributor, I focused on design systems, UI, and branding:

• Design System Creation: Developed a comprehensive Figma design system including typography, color palette, and reusable UI components to ensure consistency across the app.

• Home Screen Design: Designed the app’s home screen to highlight essential services, products, and CTAs, prioritizing intuitive navigation.

• Brand Colors: Collaborated with the team to define a pet-friendly, vibrant color palette conveying trust and happiness.
• Logo & App Icon Concepts: Created logo and alternate app icon concepts to explore the brand’s playful identity.

Design Process

Competitive Analysis:

• Reviewed existing pet grooming apps to identify gaps in features, visual design, and user experience.
• Determined opportunities to differentiate Tidy Tails with engaging visuals and dynamic interactions.

Wireframing & Layout:

• Started with responsive layouts prioritizing intuitive navigation.
• Low-fidelity sketches guided the placement of key sections: header, featured services, events, and footer.

Visual & Interactive Design:

• Applied the vibrant color palette, pet-centric imagery, and interactive elements (hover effects, transitions) to create a welcoming, dynamic user experience.
• Ensured all components aligned with the Figma design system for consistency and collaboration.

Challenges & Limitations

• Limited time prevented extensive user testing.
• The logo concept I designed was not ultimately used, but it informed the team’s branding direction.

Accomplishments & Outcomes

• Delivered a visually appealing, user-friendly home screen as part of the prototype.
• Established a robust Figma design system that streamlined collaboration and ensured consistency across all screens.
• Contributed to a cohesive brand identity through team collaboration on color and visual design decisions.

Future Direction

• Conduct usability testing to refine navigation and accessibility features.
• Collaborate with pet grooming professionals and owners to ensure the app meets real-world needs.

What I Learned

• Strengthened Figma and design system skills.
• Learned how to balance branding, usability, and team collaboration.
• Gained experience designing intuitive, playful interfaces that prioritize user experience.