Category:
App Design
Role:
Product Design, UX/UI Design, Graphic Design
My Approach
Pet Plate began with a simple question: How can we help pet parents cut through misinformation and feel confident about what they feed their pets?
Through my research, I discovered just how widespread the transparency problem is in the pet food industry. Rendered ingredients, undeclared allergens, and ingredient splitting are common practices, yet rarely understood by consumers. At the same time, rising obesity rates — 51% of dogs, 44% of cats, and 29% of small animals — show how misinformation directly affects animal health.
Recognizing that pet owners struggle to interpret long labels, confusing claims, and inconsistent standards, I set out to design a tool that makes nutrition simple, honest, and personalized.
Vision and Innovation
My vision was to build an app that transforms overwhelming ingredient lists into clear, trustworthy guidance. Pet Plate blends expert insight, personalized recommendations, and educational breakdowns to help pet parents make confident decisions.
The branding reinforces this mission — warm rusty orange, clean off-white, and high-contrast black create a friendly yet credible interface, while the paw-print plate logo reflects the relationship between pets and their owners.
Identifying Unique Challenges
Insights from my research highlighted several major challenges:
Rendered ingredients (“meals”) are often sourced from decomposing or diseased animals.
Undeclared ingredients increase allergy risks, with DNA tests revealing mismatched proteins in many foods.
Ingredient splitting disguises fillers like corn and rice by dividing them into multiple sub-ingredients.
Pet owners often lack education — up to 30% don’t read packaging, and many guess portion sizes or misjudge their pet’s weight.
These issues revealed a clear need for a tool that simplifies information without oversimplifying the science.
Resolving Complex Problems
To address these gaps, I designed Pet Plate as an accessible solution built around clarity and usability:
Ingredient transparency that explains red flags like unspecified meats, additives, and undeclared proteins.
Educational breakdowns that turn dense labels into easy-to-read summaries.
Personalized recommendations based on species, breed, weight, allergies, and activity level.
A scanner tool that instantly analyzes any product in-store or at home, turning confusion into clarity in seconds.
User-Centric Design
I focused on creating a warm, intuitive experience that feels helpful rather than clinical. Clean typography, friendly colour coding, and short-form explanations reduce cognitive load.
By structuring the app around four simple features — customization, suggestions, ingredient breakdowns, and scanning — users can navigate confidently regardless of their nutrition knowledge.
Detailed Pages and Features
Customization Profile
Users input species, breed, weight, lifestyle, and dietary restrictions to generate tailored insights.Personalized Suggestions + Reviews
Curated recommendations backed by user reviews and expert commentary.Nutrition & Ingredient Breakdowns
Concise explanations of nutrients, flagged ingredients, and allergen risks.Barcode Scanner
Real-time analysis of any pet food product, highlighting quality, transparency issues, and community feedback.Accessibility and Optimization
Accessibility and Optimization
Pet Plate’s interface uses high contrast, concise language, and icon-based cues to ensure readability. The app supports quick interactions, mobile-first navigation, and clear hierarchy so users can make decisions confidently — especially during in-store purchases when time is limited.
Conclusion
Pet Plate challenges an industry defined by confusing labels and hidden practices. By centering transparency, personalization, and education, the app empowers pet parents to make informed choices that support healthier, happier pets.
