Puppi Lovers
Puppi Lovers is a dating application for dog parents. Puppi Lovers connects dog lovers to set up dates, find new mates or play dates for their pups.
Case Study
Puppi Lovers
Application
Services
Application Development / Animaiton Development / Website DevelopmentOverview
Puppi Lovers is the biggest community for all things dogs. Puppi Lovers gives dog owners everything they need: meet other dog lovers, find dog friendly places, find dog-related services, find breeders and start dog breeding. Single dog owners can also use Puppi Lovers to find their perfect match – or simply set up a puppy play date.
Our Solution
We found that other similar software products had inactive users, were restrictive and many of the users did not own dogs. Moreover, there is no easy and straightforward way for dog owners to find the products and services they need for their dogs. This means that people are potentially missing out on great deals, products and brands. People are also being driven to date those they may not be compatible with due to differing lifestyles.
With the Puppi Lovers solution, we aim to solve these problems by offering a unique and dedicated built-in dog directory that connects users to dog-related businesses. This accelerates the user’s process of finding and purchasing pet supplies. It also enables users to find products and businesses they might not already know about.
The Challenge
Puppi Lovers is the brainchild of Shane Mann, owner of Fitness4All in Parkes, New South Wales. Shane realised that dog owners are most compatible with other dog owners. However, there weren’t any dating apps in the market that fulfilled this need. So, Shane jumped on this opportunity to fill this gap by creating a dating app for dog owners.
The app has been in theoretical status since 2015. Shane originally worked on the app ideation with a friend, and together they created a business plan to help get the app off the ground. Shane has approached DigiGround to scope and build and application to achieve this goal.
Application
Development
Objective
The client wanted to build a dog dating app that works on Android and iOS platforms. We assigned the project to our experienced Android app developer and iOS app developer who understood the client’s requirements easily. Our developers started by researching existing dating apps and studying their features with algorithm insights. The results gathered from our research underscored the gaps in existing knowledge and technology, making it easy for us to understand where to take our app development.
Strategy
The product development for Puppi Lovers began with scoping of what work is required. We put a product development plan in place to ensure deadlines and technical requirements were being met. Resources were allocated to the research and development, including staff resources, technology, tools and time. With these details in place, we started the actual development work by designing a working prototype of the technology. Once the design was completed, we moved onto developing the platform by writing script, creating algorithms and creating workflows. Development took almost five months to complete because it involved writing new code, focus group testing, stress testing and ensuring that the matchmaking algorithm was working and producing an intuitive user interface.
The Result
After facing a couple of application development issues, we successfully developed this dog dating app and also built some new features to help Puppi Lovers stand out from the competitors. The app functions so that users must be a verified dog owner. Users are required to upload an interaction video with their dog(s) to show that users aren’t exploiting the app. Users must set up a profile for both themselves and their dogs, with a complete bio and images. Users can mutually connect and instantly send messages and start video calls. The app was successfully launched in 2021 and met all client expectations. Puppi Lovers is available in the App Store and Play Store, and we are all thrilled with the final product.Animation
Development
Objective
We found that users like to express themselves through various means, one of which being avatars. Our aim was to produce an avatar builder that would enable users to showcase their personality and add some personalisation to the technology. This technology needed to ensure that our users experience an immersive and human interaction with using the Puppi Lovers product. The avatar builder needed to help us give our users a more authentic and personalised experience, which in turn would make them for a brand-user relationship.
Strategy
We began the experiment by filming actual human movements to understand how to correctly recreate these movement patterns in the animations. Likewise, we studied extensive images of dogs and people, and used these as a guide for our avatars. To create the avatars, we first drew up character designs using Adobe Illustrator. These characters needed to be consistent in design and reflect the Puppi Lovers brand. Once the avatars were designed, we hired an experienced animator to turn the avatars into animations. This was produced in Adobe After Effects.To put the animations into the actual application, our developers needed to code the animations. We used animation libraries and custom codes to build the animation workflow. React Native was used to build the animation sequence, edit motion paths and control runtime.All animations drawn needed code that matched the avatars. This was a difficult process due to the limited animation libraries, resources and information available. Since our animations were unique, we had to write most of the code from scratch to accomplish what we needed, which was time consuming and extensive work.The Result
Due to the extensive work required to make the avatars, we have limited the types of avatars that can be made. We were originally planning to create an avatar of every dog breed, but this has been reduced to only the top 15 most popular dog breeds. However, we were able to achieve the original animations we had planned despite the complexity of the animation coding that was required. We have plans to expand the avatars in future to give users more avatar options.
Website
Development
Objective
The client needed a complete website in order to encourage subscription purchases, connect with business partners and give users everything they needed out of a dog lovers community. The websit e needed to be accessible on mobile devices, which is very important to stay competitive in today’s day and age. In addition to mobile optimisation, the Puppi Lovers website needed to deliver an engaging user experience. The website needed to encourage engagement from visitors, give users a reason to keep coming back and generate subscription signups. Another goal was to make it easy for website users to find the right services and products for their dog through a built-in directory.
Strategy
Once we understood and outlined the goals of the website, we started the user experience (UX) development. Since one of the goals of the website was to create a community for dog owners, we planned interactive features that would educate, engage and help users to connect with dog-related businesses. We jumped into designing the website in accordance with the client’s requirements. Working collaboratively with him, our web designers successfully integrated brand assets, capturing Puppi Lover’s personality into the interactive design.The Result
The result was a solid UX and a successful design that deserves a round of a-paws. The website is smooth and easy to use and captures the goals and personality of the Puppi Lovers brand. The site helps dog owners to quickly find what their dogs need in an engaging and interactive way.Want to be a part of an award winning team?
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Bespoke Software
Development
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