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Product Designer Intern · Biscuit Beacon · 2024

Designing a reason to come back to a one-time utility.

A dog-walking app with a retention problem. We designed Routes to give every walk a reason to come back.

Role
UX research, product design, storytelling
Timeline
4 months · Fall 2024
My part
Came up with the Routes feature
Team
Linh Ly, Christina Tran, Harshini Kandagaddala
Tools
Figma, FigJam
84%of surveyed dog owners said they wanted to track their walks. Routes was designed around it.Where it comes fromOur survey of 20+ Austin dog owners: 84% wanted to track walk time and distance, the need Routes and the goal tracker were designed around.
15+reusable components in one shared Figma libraryWhat it coversRoute cards, goal trackers and navigation, built once and reused so four designers worked from one system.
20+survey responses and 10+ user interviewsHow it was measured20+ survey responses plus 10+ interviews with long-time dog owners in Austin, TX, run in an 8-week research window.
Problem

Dog owners opened the app to find a water bowl, then didn’t come back. Collecting got boring.

Insight

They didn’t need more places. They needed a reason to walk: 84% wanted to track time and distance, 72% struggled with motivation.

What I did

With my team, surveyed 20+ owners and studied Nike Run Club, Strava and Pokémon GO. I came up with Routes: pick a walk, set a goal, collect beacons along the way.

Result

Designed Routes and a goal tracker around the need 84% of surveyed owners described, and Biscuit Beacon reached 30 users in a month. A 15+ component library kept four designers on one system.

01 / The problem

Why engagement was low.

“Walking your dog and collecting items sounds like a great way to bond with my dog, however that got boring pretty quickly.”
User interview
“I want a clear reason to come back to the app regularly, not just use it once when I need a place.”
Survey response
“I want the app to feel fun and welcoming so I enjoy using it, not just when I’m in a rush.”
Survey response

Collecting got predictable. Progress had to feel visible.

02 / Research

What 20+ dog owners told us.

Joined mid-project, so we researched fast: observations, surveys, interviews with Austin dog owners.

Interactive demo

What dog owners told us

Toggle the view · 20+ survey responses

03 / Competitive analysis

Borrow the habit loops that already work.

Dog walking is fitness plus exploration. We studied the apps that made both stick.

Interactive

Three apps, three lessons

Tap an app to compare

Nike Run Club

Why it works

Live progress and a post-run summary make each run feel measurable.

What we borrowed for Biscuit Beacon

Live time and distance during the walk, and a summary after it.

Live tracking+Community routes+Milestones=Routes + Goal Tracker

04 / Design

Routes, goals, and a summary worth coming back to.

Find a beacon screenPick a route screenSet a goal screenFollow along screenTrack the walk screenSee the summary screen
  1. 01Find a beacon

    Water bowls, treat stops and parks near you, on one map.

  2. 02Pick a route

    Distance, time and the beacons along the way, before you leave.

  3. 03Set a goal

    Choose a distance or duration to aim for.

  4. 04Follow along

    Turn-by-turn directions for you and your dog.

  5. 05Track the walk

    Live time and distance, with milestone moments.

  6. 06See the summary

    Route, weather and pet health after every walk.

Interactive demo

Set a goal, walk the route, collect the beacons

Press start · simplified recreation of Routes + Goal Tracker

4 Beacons Nearby200

Goal

Duration00:00:00
Distance (mi)0.00
Coins earned+0
Beacons found0 / 4
Progress1 mi

05 / Outcome

A reason to walk, built on one system.

84%Of surveyed owners said they wanted walk tracking
30Users in a month
15+Reusable Figma components
4Designers aligned on one system

Testing asked for clearer navigation, better rewards and more community.

06 / Reflection

Focus beat trying to fix everything.

Narrow the scopeAddressing every pain point at once felt scattered.
Community is nextUsers kept asking for profiles, shared moments, and a richer community hub.
A path to revenueCoupons, more map categories, and stronger engagement loops lay groundwork for a sustainable roadmap.