Lost and (Re)found
Redesigned a rescue organization’s brand and website to drive action — from adopting and donating to volunteering. Built a clear, emotionally resonant experience that supports urgent pet recovery while making it easy for the public to help.
Category
UX/UI
Brand
SOS Lost Pet Rescue NW
Skills
User Research Feature Prioritization Information Architecture Brand Voice Exploration Wireframing & Prototyping
My Role
User Research Prep Mind Mapping & Insight Synthesis Preference Testing Support Prototyping (Low-Fi & High-Fi)
Context
“I wanted to help — but I had no idea where to start.” — user interview, SOS Lost Pet Rescue research
What does it take to get a rescued animal into a new home?
At SOS Lost Pet Rescue NW, every adoption, donation, or volunteer shift matters — often urgently. People came ready to help. But even strong intent stalls without clear next steps.
We saw an opportunity to meet that intent with structure, clarity, and trust. I joined two other designers to rebuild the experience from the ground up.
Project Goal
Transform moments of intent into meaningful action — by redesigning SOS’s digital experience to guide adoption, donation, and volunteering with clarity, trust, and emotional impact.
Problem
Users didn’t need persuasion — they needed a path. They came ready to help, but found flows that lacked structure, clarity, and emotional grounding. Donation pages offered no visibility into impact. Adoption content prioritized fees over animals. Volunteer signups left people unsure what was expected — or how to begin. The intent to help was real. The experience didn’t support it. And while people hesitated, animals waited.
Persona
Who were we designing for — and what mattered to them most?
Ruth reflects the most common pattern we heard: people genuinely motivated to help — but needing more context and clarity to act. “It would warm my heart just to see what I was helping to achieve,” one user said. That became a guiding lens for what the site needed to provide.
Process
How did we turn scattered feedback into focused direction?
To move from insight to execution, we explored where users get stuck — and how design could better support their intent. That led to two focused actions.
Experience Architecture
Feature Trade-Offs & Prioritization
✅
Prioritized
Success stories block → Adds emotional weight and motivation for adoptions and donations
Clear tier descriptions → Sets expectations upfront, supports decision-making
Updated page content → Improves clarity and trust across key donation/adoption flows
Donation photos & visuals → Increases empathy and transparency
❌
Deprioritized
Highly specific personalization → Too complex for MVP, added to backlog
Donation incentives (merch, gifts) → Niche appeal, low value-to-effort
Name-the-animal feature → Cute, but not critical for core goals
Painting gifts from animals → Delightful, but deprioritized post-launch
User Validation
✅ Validated wins
Clear layout and CTA made users feel confident and ready to engage
Visuals felt trustworthy and welcoming
Form flow encouraged action (donate, volunteer)
🟠 Needs improvement
Add clarity around adoption vs. payment
Expand volunteer role descriptions
Make filters more visible and labeled
Let users click cards for deeper info
Measured Response
Did it work? Here's what we heard. From filters to rescue stories, we tracked how people navigated and what stuck — and what shifted.
What We Learned
Working prototypes and user feedback revealed key opportunities to improve clarity, trust, and engagement:
Real stories build trust — people wanted more outcomes, names, and personal moments.
Depth encourages action — testers tried clicking animal cards for more details.
Small cues matter — unclear labels on buttons and filters caused hesitation.
Ambiguity breaks flow — users confused adoption with payment without clearer separation.
