Shelter Partner: A UX Redesign

ShelterPartner is a platform that supports shelters, volunteers, and visitors by making it easier to view and manage animals available for adoption. I was tasked with redesigning the Enrichment tab, which volunteers use to organize animal data and track activities. This project is ongoing, I plan to continue enhancing the remaining sections of the website for ShelterPartner.

Problem

Goals

Volunteers using ShelterPartner’s Enrichment tab struggle to efficiently find animals and record activities due to confusing navigation and unclear search filters.

Volunteers using ShelterPartner’s Enrichment tab struggle to efficiently find animals and record activities due to confusing navigation and unclear search filters.

Volunteers using ShelterPartner’s Enrichment tab struggle to efficiently find animals and record activities due to confusing navigation and unclear search filters.

The goal of this redesign was to elevate the volunteer experience within the Enrichment tab by improving search functionality, streamlining navigation, and restructuring how animal data is organized. Informed by user feedback, I introduced new, volunteer-requested features to create a more intuitive workflow.



The goal of this redesign was to elevate the volunteer experience within the Enrichment tab by improving search functionality, streamlining navigation, and restructuring how animal data is organized. Informed by user feedback, I introduced new, volunteer-requested features to create a more intuitive workflow.



The goal of this redesign was to elevate the volunteer experience within the Enrichment tab by improving search functionality, streamlining navigation, and restructuring how animal data is organized. Informed by user feedback, I introduced new, volunteer-requested features to create a more intuitive workflow.



Role

Responsiblities

Duration

UX Designer/Researcher

  • Empathizing, Defining, and Ideating

  • Building Prototypes

  • Conducting UX Research

July 2025-Nov 2025

(Ongoing)

What Do Current Users Think About ShelterPartner?

To identify key pain points and areas for improvement, I surveyed several shelters using ShelterPartner to understand how volunteers and staff use the platform and what usability concerns they face.



of users found the Enrichment Tab to be the hardest to navigate

of users use ShelterPartner in their daily tasks

40%

80%

User Pain Points

Cluttered Search Filters

Unorganized Tags

Slow Tap to Let Out Interaction

Inability to Group Animals Together

Based on my user research and survey results, I narrowed the feedback into 4 main pain points.

(CLICK each one to see how I tackled this design challenge!)

(CLICK each one to see how I tackled this design challenge!)

(CLICK each one to see how I tackled this design challenge!)

1

2

3

4

Information Architecture: Organizing Tabs and Search Filters

As I started organizing the app’s features, I realized the experience needed a stronger structure. I mapped out the information architecture to organize tabs, filters, and categories in a way that would make the app feel effortless to explore as well as got rid of unnecessary sections.

Tackling Each Pain Point:

Cluttered Search Filters

Old Design

New Design

1

I redesigned the search filters to make them more intuitive, taking inspiration from familiar e-commerce websites. By improving labeling, and creating a clear hierarchy, I streamlined the experience so volunteers could locate data on animals quickly and effortlessly.

Unorganized Tags

2

For each animal's "card", I focused on prioritizing essential information in a clear hierarchy, easy-to-scan layout, letting users grasp details instantly.

Old Design

New Design

Slow "Tap to Let Out" Interaction

3

Volunteers found the “tap to let out” button slow and unintuitive since it required holding it down for several seconds. To make the process more natural, I redesigned it into a single-tap “Let Out” button that instantly triggers the action with clear visual feedback, improving efficiency and reducing friction during busy shifts.

Old Design

New Design

Inability to Group Animals Together

4


Volunteers could only let animals out individually, which made managing groups time consuming and repetitive. Based on feedback from my user survey, I introduced a grouping feature that allows volunteers to select and release multiple animals at once. This update reduced repetitive actions, and better reflected how animals are managed in real shelter settings.

Old Design

New Design

Reflection

Redesigning the Enrichment tab for ShelterPartner allowed me to explore how small interaction changes can significantly impact usability in real-world workflows. Through user feedback and iteration, I learned the importance of designing with volunteers’ routines in mind—prioritizing clarity, speed, and simplicity. This project strengthened my ability to translate user pain points into meaningful design solutions, and I’m excited to continue refining other areas of the platform to further enhance the volunteer experience.