Designed seamless pet care experiences across multiple touch points
Co-Founder, Engr. Team, Marketer
Overview
Pet owners in Germany were stuck in an outdated booking cycle: call clinic → wait on hold → get appointment weeks away → repeat when pet gets sick. With pet adoption surging 20% during COVID, this phone-based system was failing both pets and their stressed owners. They were overall frustrated with:
- No online booking for veterinary appointments
- Lost medical records between visits and clinic changes
- Emergency care uncertainty when regular vets unavailable
- Limited transparency into pet health history and treatment plans
The Solution
I designed Rex's first consumer mobile app to transform pet care from reactive phone calls to proactive digital health management.
Research Insights
We interviewed existing Rex customers and analyzed competitor apps (Felmo, BondVet, PetFolk) plus best-in-class booking experiences (Airbnb, Starbucks) for interaction patterns.
Key finding: Pet owners make care decisions during high-stress moments when their animals are sick or in pain—requiring crystal-clear information architecture and zero friction booking flows.
Key Design Decisions
Mobile-First Strategy:
Prioritized native mobile experience over web, recognizing pet care happens on-the-go and during emotional moments requiring immediate access.
Unified Pet Profiles:
Single dashboard for multiple pets with family member access, solving the common problem of scattered pet information across household members.
Trust-First Monetization:
Embedded insurance recommendations and premium care upsells within natural user flows, avoiding disruptive advertising that could undermine trust during health crises.
Impact
- 4.9★ rating across both app stores (261 iOS, 72 Android reviews)
- Over 33,000+ estimated downloads based on review ratios
- 90+ NPS score from pet owners
- Significantly improved booking conversion vs. phone-based system
- Foundation for scalable operations now supporting 8+ clinic locations
What I Learned
Designing for emotional, high-stakes moments requires different patterns than typical consumer apps. Pet owners need reassurance and clarity above all else - beautiful UI means nothing if they can't quickly book care for a suffering animal.
Cross-platform consistency became critical as families often share pet care responsibilities across different devices and operating systems.
To keep exploring, go to my other case studies.
