Solo product designer. Self-initiated. End to end — research, information architecture, visual design, testing.
01 The Brief
I ran 12 in-depth interviews and a competitor analysis across five platforms — Shopee, Lazada, Kohepets, Pet Lovers Centre, Perromart. What I heard wasn't about products.
It was about not wanting to accidentally hurt their pet. That was the actual brief.
92%
Had specialised dietary needs
Health was the primary purchase driver — above price, brand, or convenience.
83%
Shopped with a specific product
Came to check, not browse. They needed answers before options.
75%
Relied on external validation
Vet or community confirmation before committing to anything new.
Every competitor. Brands first. Your pet, an afterthought.
I ran a card sort with all 12 participants. Every single one grouped by pet first — species, then age, then health condition. Not brand. Not product category. That single finding rewrote the information architecture.
Card sort — 12 participants, grouped by pet before anything else.
02 The Structure
I ran a card sort with all 12 participants. Every single one grouped by pet first — species, then age, then health condition. Not brand. Not product category.
So the information architecture matches that. Before any browsing, Paw Haus asks: who are you shopping for? Products filter themselves from that answer.
Who are you shopping for? That question comes before any product.
03 The Argument
V1 used warning labels. Every tester read it as "dangerous" and left the page — even when the product was safe for their pet.
Same product. One communicated danger. One communicated fit.
04 Outcome
100% of testers found a safe, allergen-specific product without a vet visit or physical store trip — validating the hypothesis that safety-first architecture reduces purchase anxiety. Research to tested prototype, no brief, no client, no team.
Paw Haus · Final design · 100% task success · 4.8/5 ease-of-use
100%
Found safe food for their petIn V1 testing, only 1 of 5 participants found the reorder section — it was below the fold and framed as a product category, not a shortcut. V2 moved it above the fold with a dedicated returning customer entry point.
4.8/5
Ease-of-use scoreStructured usability testing, 5 participants
96%
Trusted the recommendationsPet profile system, confirmed across all participants
"I actually check the ingredients to make sure there's not any random stuff I don't understand. For food, I 100% always check."
05 Reflection
Anxiety is a design brief
The stated brief was "e-commerce platform." The actual problem was verification anxiety — owners couldn't act without feeling certain first. Finding that distinction was the most important design decision in the project.
The framing of a label changes the decision
Warning tag versus match indicator — same product, completely different outcome. One communicated danger. One communicated fit. Tone is structure. The language of safety is a design system choice, not copy.
Card sorts don't lie about IA
Every participant sorted by pet before anything else. I could have argued for category-first — most e-commerce does. But the research was clear. Following that data produced a flow that required zero explanation to navigate.
