The Petnet SmartFeeder is a Wi-Fi connected automatic pet feeder for cats and dogs. Using the Petnet App you can personalize your pet’s daily meal times and portions, order pet food for delivery, and even feed from your phone.

Goal:

Lead the human-centered redesign of Petnet’s connected pet feeding app, which spanned web, mobile, and physical product integration. The focus was to shift the product experience from a data-heavy, utilitarian tool into an emotionally resonant, intuitive system that seamlessly connected pet care with automation, E-commerce, and real-time feedback.

Challenge:

Food purchases were separate from feeder schedules, breaking automation.
The UI lacked clarity, warmth, and emotional resonance.
The app felt like a health monitor rather than a pet care companion.

Approach:

Reduced cognitive load by simplifying the interface into a “care-based” model rather than data-heavy dashboards.
Created a pet profile system that automatically adjusted feeding schedules based on weight, age, and activity.
Integrated e-commerce directly into the app, allowing users to subscribe to food deliveries aligned with feeding schedules.
Designed micro-animations and UI motion that felt soft, reassuring, and non-intrusive.

Drew visual inspiration from baby products, focusing on soft, approachable aesthetics.
Built a UI system with gentle colors, rounded shapes, and minimal line icons to communicate trust, safety, and care.
Every icon reinforced the idea of nurturing, from food bowls to paw prints, designed to feel calm and supportive rather than technical.

Partnered closely with the Creative Director and VP of Design to completely reimagine the user journey.
UX research revealed that users desired a “set it and forget it” experience to automate care that quietly runs in the background.
Emotional reassurance became the design priority. Users cared more about knowing their pet was being fed reliably than monitoring graphs or data.

Developed micro-interactions that were subtle, friendly, and purposeful.
Loading animations were inspired by Edweard Muybridge’s animal motion studies.
Motion was not used to guide or distract, but to reinforcing the ease and reliability of automation.

Replaced overwhelming data dashboards with a step-by-step onboarding flow framed as a pet care questionnaire.
Focus shifted from raw data to actionable care. Users input their pet’s age, weight, and activity level to auto-calculate feeding schedules.
Designed the app to run silently in the background, surfacing notifications only when needed: when a pet was fed, food was low, or there was an issue with the feeder.

Collaborated closely with the Creative Director and VP of Design to rearchitect the user journey.
Discovered that users wanted a “set it and forget it” experience, not constant data monitoring.
Prioritized emotional design. Users cared more about knowing their pet was cared for than about granular analytics.

Built an integrated shopping experience that automated pet food delivery based on the pet’s profile and feeding frequency.
Users could now subscribe to scheduled deliveries synced with their feeder, eliminating the need to manage food supplies manually.
Designed tracking screens for order status, delivery updates, and purchase history, fully embedded within the app’s main experience.

A fully reimagined app that allowed users to create detailed pet profiles, manage feeding schedules, monitor feeder status, and automate food delivery, all through a calm, intuitive interface.
The app now runs quietly in the background, notifying users only for critical events, enhancing trust without overwhelming.
The introduction of integrated e-commerce closed the gap between feeding automation and supply management, reinforcing the promise of a truly connected pet care ecosystem.

Improved customer satisfaction by simplifying onboarding and reducing unnecessary interactions.
Increased retention due to the introduction of subscription-based food delivery tied directly to the pet’s feeding data.
Strengthened the product’s emotional resonance.
Expanded feature set to support multi-feeder households while maintaining a minimal, stress-free experience.