Case study

I had the immense joy of designing the digital adoption platform for the BC SPCA, creating a streamlined experience that helps prospective adopters discover hundreds of animals available across shelters throughout British Columbia. The platform includes advanced filtering, allowing users to narrow results by species, breed, age, weight, sex, compatibility, bonded pairs and animal ID, alongside location-based search so users can easily find animals available at nearby centres. Detailed pet profiles combine information, photos and behavioural notes with light storytelling to help adopters understand each animal’s personality and needs are before applying. A “heart” was an important user feature to list your favourite animals for possible adoption. It was important to include flags on the images to show different statuses, such as in foster or long-term resident.

The experience was intentionally structured around the real-world adoption journey, from browsing and discovery to submitting an application and connecting with shelter staff. With the goal of reducing friction in the decision-making process was always goal number one. The system was also designed to support a wide range of adoptable animals beyond cats and dogs, including rabbits, birds, reptiles, farm animals and horses, reflecting the broader scope of the organization’s work and mission to help animals find safe, loving homes.