VANESSA CHANG
Experience Designer & Strategist About
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Projects
Selected Works
NEOMITA  Healthcare Monitoring Device
PAWSSISTANT AI Assistant for Pet Wellness
 EXPO x TAIWAN Virtual Co-Creation EXPO

Service + Product

Enhancing Pet Wellbeing Through Generative AI Intervention

Facilitating informed and confident decision-making in critical health care moments .

Honor & Recognitions Read the mention article that is published on Institute of Design’s website.

ASSIST pet caregivers WHO need support managing their pets' health and well-being TO handle emergencies, chronic conditions, and emotional challenges BY providing Pawssistant, an AI-driven virtual assistant accessible across devices.



A bridge that humanizes AI technology for individuals.







Our Mission
  1. Embed the Generative AI feature into a focused, user-friendly product, targeting specific needed areas.
  2. Alleviate financial burdens and empower pet owners with personalized, timely support and knowledge, boosting their confidence to make well-informed decisions for their beloved pets' health.








Problem Space

High Quality vs Budget-Friendly Dilemma:
Balancing financial considerations with pets' well-being requires careful decision-making, often leading to stress.

Despite over 66 percent of households in the United States, totaling nearly 87 million, owning pets, the pet care and health industry remains fragmented.  Pet insurance remains relatively underutilized, with only about three percent of households with pets choosing to enroll for coverage. Additionally, veterinary care comes with a hefty price tag. Many pet owners are ill-prepared for significant expenses such as tests and surgeries. Take, for instance, this scenario: research indicates that when the cost of saving an animal exceeds $5,000, the majority of pet owners opt to discontinue treatment. This emotional quandary—how much can I afford to allocate to aid my ailing pet?—is a common dilemma confronting many pet caregivers as they evaluate the financial aspect of pet ownership. 

66%

Percent of US Households Have Pets

3%

of These Households Have Pet Insurance

$5k

Amount at Which Most Pet Owners Decide to Stop Treatment






user barriers

Pets lack the ability to speak verbally, so pet owners face challenges of understanding their needs and conditions.

Decisions based on interpreting behavioral cues, subtle changes in habits, or physical signs can be complex. Misinterpretation might lead to wrong decisions. The situation can exacerbate when you're unable to accompany your pet regularly and resort to sending them to daycare. Similarly, for pet owners managing a pet shelter, challenges arise when they struggle to monitor each individual pet effectively.






How might we leverage Gen AI capabilities to create a real time support system for pet care-givers that make informed, confident decisions assuring pet's well-being?  







Solutions

Pawssistant: Navigating Complexity with Confidence Multimodel Experience

Our pet healthcare platform provides a smooth, user-friendly experience across multiple devices. It features an AI-powered virtual assistant that offers personalized support, ensuring quick and reliable guidance when dealing with challenging pet health situations. This helps owners better protect the well-being of their beloved animal companions.







Use Case Features

#1 Emergency Care :
When facing pet accident and needed emergency response, we delivered

🕒 Manage emergency expenses in the moment 🎯 Empowering users to make confident decisions with datapoint and recommendations


“Should I go to the vet or keep monitoring?
I want to weight my decisions by cost and well-being quickly & accurately”
Passistant will examine the data to identify patterns, then offer targeted, data-driven advice based on successful outcomes in similar pet incidents.






#2 Adaptive Care :
When having pet with chronic disease monitoring needs, we delivered

⚡Rapid emergent symptom management dashboard ⌚ Consistent health tracking 💡 Streamlined care guidance with voice assistant

“I'm worried about overlooking crucial changes for my pets to live healthier with chronic diseases”
We're connecting you with a vet for thorough assurance and sticking with you all the way to post-check-in follow-ups, with a voice assistant to guide you at every step.





#3 Proactive Care :
When making life-long decisions for pet, we delivered

📈 Overview of long-term pet well-being 📝 Assess consequences, costs, and compare actions for informed, personalised decisions

“I want to explore ways to ensure my pet's long-term health and making the best choice by considering consequences on a larger scale so I don’t regret”
Proactive care plans and future-ready financial wellness strategies will assist you in making well-informed decisions.





#4 CommuniCare :  
When needing emotional support from the community, we delivered

🏘️ Connect with a supportive community 👫 Access to helpful advice from individuals facing similar situations

“This is really stressful, I want to have some talks and know how other people do it”
Passistant will help you find and connect with local caregivers dealing with similar pet health issues, offering support and a space to share experiences. This connection aims to lessen stress and provide emotional validation and support.






#5 Trust Architecture :
When needing trust and transparency of LLM model, we delivered

✨ Source Transparency 💡 Fine-tuning for personalized suggestions 📚 Data collection survey

"I want to know where the information is coming from, and if Pawssistant can provide me from trust-worthy sources."
 Pawssistant merges trusted vet-approved information with a smart algorithm to customize advice, helping you make informed decisions for your pets' care.







User journey with Pawssistant





Value and impact

Collaborate Care:
Elevating Pet Health through Early Detection and Shared Veterinary Partnerships

Our product doesn't aim to replace a vet; instead, it focuses on early disease detection, preventing more severe and potentially fatal situations. Through accurate data collection, ensuring prompt interventions, and fostering better collaborations, we prioritize the overall well-being of our pets.

Why It Is Important For all of Pet Caregivers

Pawssistant addresses a critical need in the pet caregiving space by providing a streamlined journey that enhances pet owners' confidence and capability in managing their pets' health. 

  • Utilizes advanced LLM technology to deliver well-informed recommendations, aiding pet owners in making complex decisions with greater confidence.
  • Helps pet owners gain a deeper understanding of their pets, which not only saves time but also alleviates emotional and financial stress.
  • Offers comprehensive, disease-focused 'Health and Care-plan mode' for efficient, lifelong management of pets' health and care needs.
















MY ROLEDesign research | UI / UX Design | Product Design | Visual Communication | Service Design | Business Strategy

FRAMEWORK & TOOLS
Primary + Secondary Research, Storyboarding, HMW (How Might We), User Journey Map, Figma, Photoshop, Illustrator, Scenarios, Business model & System Mapping, AI Design and Framework
TIMELINESep, 2023- Dec, 2023

ADVISOR JoEllen Kames, Jennifer Levin

TEAM
Han Wen (Vanessa) Chang, Sunmin Ko, Eunji Kim


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Vanessa Chang © 2024