MeetMews
Building a warm, trustworthy community where pet owners actually want to show up.
- Role
- Product Designer
- Timeline
- 14 weeks · 2023
- Team
- 1 PM, 2 Engineers, 2 Designers
- Platform
- iOS
- Tools
- Figma, Lookback, Notion, ProtoPie
Project overview
MeetMews is a social platform for pet owners to discover local services, connect with nearby owners, and manage their pets' lives in one place. The challenge was designing a community product that felt personal and safe rather than another noisy feed.
Pet owners juggle fragmented tools and scattered communities, with no trusted, local place to connect and care for their animals.
Local pet info lived across Facebook groups, Nextdoor, and word of mouth.
New owners felt isolated and unsure who to trust for advice.
Existing apps optimized for engagement over genuine community.
What we set out to achieve
- 01Create a sense of safe, local community from the first session.
- 02Consolidate pet care tools into one intuitive hub.
- 03Design for meaningful connection over vanity metrics.
User & market research
I focused research on trust and belonging — what makes an online community feel safe enough for people to participate, especially around something as personal as their pets.
Diary Study
A 2-week diary study with 9 pet owners capturing real moments of need and frustration.
Community Audit
Observed behavior across existing pet forums and local groups to map unmet needs.
Stakeholder Interviews
Interviewed local vets and groomers to understand the service side of the ecosystem.
separate tools used by the average owner
wanted local, verified recommendations
more trust in owner-to-owner advice
Priya Sharma
26 · First-time Dog Owner
“I love my dog but I'm constantly second-guessing myself — I just want people nearby I can actually trust.”
- +Find trustworthy local vets, sitters, and parks
- +Meet other owners in her neighborhood
- +Keep her pet's info and reminders in one place
- −Advice online is contradictory and anonymous
- −Juggling multiple apps for one pet
- −Feeling judged in large, impersonal groups
Information architecture & user flow
I anchored the architecture on locality and identity — every experience starts from 'owners and services near me' and builds outward to broader community.
Low-fidelity wireframes
Low-fidelity wireframes explored how to balance three needs — discovery, connection, and pet management — without a cluttered tab bar. I tested several navigation models to find one that kept community central.
High-fidelity designs
High-fidelity design used a bold, high-contrast card system and playful photography to feel warm and modern. Verified badges and local context were made visually prominent to reinforce trust throughout.
The final solution
MeetMews brings discovery, connection, and pet care into one calm, trustworthy space designed to feel local and personal.
Local Discovery
Find vets, sitters, parks, and events nearby with owner-verified recommendations.
Pet Profiles
A home for each pet's health, reminders, and milestones — shareable with sitters and vets.
Trusted Community
Neighborhood-based groups with verified members keep conversations safe and relevant.
Outcomes & impact
waitlist signups pre-launch
beta community rating
D30 retention vs. benchmark
What I learned
Community products live or die on trust, and trust is built through countless small design decisions — verification, tone, locality. Designing MeetMews taught me to treat safety and warmth as core UX requirements, not afterthoughts.