2014-2015
Petcube is a Ukrainian startup for pet lovers. Its first product, Petcube Camera, provides you with an opportunity to talk to your pet and interact with a laser pointer installed on the device. Petcube Camera is a piece of technology promoted by Kickstarter and invested in by Almaz Capital & AVentures right after the initial release.
I was invited to work at Petcube as a product designer at an early stage right after the Kickstarter campaign. My goal was to discover new business capabilities, refine the user experience around Petcube apps, and develop marketing design. I was involved in all the design processes in the company.
At Petcube, we believe that technology is advanced enough to allow humans to communicate and interact with their fluffy loved ones even when they're not at home. The Petcube Camera had to be the bridge between a person and their pet. All the flows had to be thoroughly polished to eliminate delays and misunderstandings. I was responsible for making application refinements from scratch, relying solely on brand guidelines. I performed numerous research studies based on the data and feedback provided by the first Petcube Camera owners who volunteered to improve the customer experience.
The main goal was to meet user expectations regarding the product quality presented in the initial Kickstarter campaign. We aimed to develop a strong user experience when a user connects to the Petcube Camera, which conveys a sense of presence in the room and playing with a pet.
The pet industry hadn’t seen such a device before. Petcube is driving it forward, and pet owners hadn’t considered such entertainment as a primary one before. It was a challenge for Petcube App users to connect to the device and reimagine the concept of presence in their pets' lives. Most importantly, since it was the initial release, we had to consider all actions with the brand as uncompromisable. Reputation meant a lot, and this had to trigger a domino effect.
To find ideas on how to implement things, I had to familiarize myself with the Petcube story before Kickstarter. It was crucial for me to know what they planned to implement and promised to their backers. To make the right decisions, I had to understand user expectations.
I worked closely with a design manager and the technical team to get as much information as possible about the device's capabilities and restrictions. To deliver the best design solution, which was inseparable from the technical part, I had to consult with the technical team.
Permanently extending the functionality and improving video streaming capabilities, I generated ideas and assumptions by researching existing CCTV solutions and shooter games. In addition to the highly developed technical part, the Petcube App included social networking features. This means that I also had to understand the social aspect of the platform.
I performed a series of internal user tests and validated the results by choosing between different options most appreciated by users.
After the research, I proceeded to develop the UX flow to contextualize the UI additions. The Petcube Apps for both platforms had a complex structure. Complementing it with context, entry, and exit points for every flow was extremely important.
I was also involved in developing the Petcube website and various marketing activities, which were intended to have a strong visual design.
Many people thought that the laser pointer could damage their pets' eyes. We decided to include an explanation in every onboarding process to inform users that our laser cannot have any negative impact.
Every laser had to be calibrated properly to clone any action on the screen to the movement of a laser pointer. I had to include the calibration mode with a simple onboarding flow to make all devices working correctly.
The most common answer to the privacy questions at Petcube was, "We should care about this." We added the Petcube timer to the iPhone app.
As the sales team sold the first batch of devices, we found that Petcube could not be used by two people simultaneously. We added a queue function in the next update.
After the initial launch, we discovered that over 70% of pictures in the photo stream feed were taken via the Petcube Camera.
Due to the lack of technical details about the functionality of the Petcube Camera, the best possible way to iteratively ideate was by creating sketches.
I had to focus on developing the general map of the application because of its complex architecture with permanent additions and corrections from the technical team.
Among the problems I solved during the entire design process at Petcube, there was an iterative development of each flow of the app simultaneously.
The initial idea concentrated on playing with your pet using a laser pointer via a virtual joystick. It required a two-handed game. However, it had to be easier.
We borrowed ideas from shooter games with the same approach where you need only a single tap to play.
The complexity of the new approach was in keeping a cursor pointer working consistently with the laser pointer in real life. Moreover, it had to be calibrated and synchronized. In this case, we applied the calibration module.`
To keep the Petcube Camera working consistently with the application interface, we ideated a game with a calibration module.
To develop a seamless user experience and interactions, I had to divide each semantic block into a clickable flow. It was important to have an explanation for every design solution.
The intention was to experiment more with potential business ideas and provide better communication between application flows. For example, we added a brand new Petcube for shelters.
I worked on user onboarding with plenty of walkthrough horizontal scroll views to ensure that users knew what to do in the app.
After the initial release, the application required privacy features. We discovered this need during field research.
Any changes were set on the mind map. I designed the UX flow and only then created high-fidelity mockups.
I used flows as a to-do list. I took the UX flow and applied it to designing high-fidelity mockups.
Design stage was almost the last in my process. Every decision was supported by all the activities before.
As I worked closely with the software team and was involved in product development, I spent a lot of time consulting iOS developers on the pixel-perfect implementation.
I worked fluently on Android design due to the limited delivery time.
In this case, I rebuilt the flow according to Android guidelines and did not change the structure.
As Android development started, the development team and I agreed to use the same grid as on iOS. We changed the iconography and color palette. It became easier to implement the UI, and the process significantly accelerated.
As Christmas holidays were approaching, I helped to change the homepage and complemented it with updates.
I designed and developed marketing emails and SMM concepts for numerous campaigns.
I cooperated with the marketing team to develop a survey for our early adopters like Kickstarter backers. Their answers guided us to their needs.
It was helpful to produce the most valuable impact and develop the right features for the users.
76% opted in the updates from the Kickstarter campaign
61% people opened Petcube app every day
79% concluded that the app is easy-to-use
Engadget
USA Today
PC Magazine
The Verge
Chip Chick
Gigaom
Globo.com
Fortune
Daily Mail
Apparata
Techlicious
ConsumerReports.org
BBC News
Digital Trends
VentureBeat
New York Post
TheStreet.com
SC Morning Post
Los Angeles Times
COMPUTER BILD
Korrespondent.net
Techly
AIN.ua
ITespresso.fr
It’s funny watching how Hunter reacts to my voice when I call him? We haven’t mastered the laser yeat, but the whole family is excited!
anncade
Once I found Petcube App I can’t imagine my day without it! I can be confident that my pets are under care even when I’m not at home
Anvar Azizov
I appreciate this app. But waiting for the device ?
Pesya
The app is a total essential for any pet lover.
jakedavies
It’s so great that I could talk with my pet remotely and play while not home. Great for people living their pets.
Slava Baranskiy
Great app! Petcube is awesome!
Alex Pazhyn
