Life with Pets Podcasts
UX Design | UI Design | Interactive Design | Prototyping | Accessibility
Bringing educational audio content to the Buddies App
Client:
General Mills
Role:
UX Designer
Year:
2022
Introduction
While working at Blue Buffalo, one of my focuses was to design and develop the learning section of the Buddies app - a marketing app that tracked user data while offering rewards and educational material.
To make learning more engaging and flexible, we introduced Life with Pets—a podcast feature that gives users a hands-free, on-the-go way to enjoy educational content.
The Challenge
🔴 Existing Issues:
Static, text-only educational section
No passive listening option for multitasking users
Lack of accessibility for hearing-impaired users
✅ Project Goals:
Create a seamless podcast player experience
Make educational content more inclusive
Boost engagement with diverse content formats
Project Strategy & Approach
1. Align Business & User Goals
📌 Expand learning opportunities for pet parents.
📌 Ensure content is accessible to a diverse user base.
📌 Create a frictionless podcast experience within the Buddies app.
2. Competitive & Comparative Analysis
✔️ Apply best UX practices for playback controls and navigation.
✔️ Integrate common accessibility features like transcripts and playback speed controls.
3. Features & User Flows
Based on user research, I designed a seamless journey from discovery to playback.
Design Requirements:
🎙️ Podcast Module – Dedicated section on the Learn landing page.
▶️ Core Player Controls – Play/Pause, Rewind, Fast Forward.
📜 Podcast Detail Screen – Episode summary, host details, duration, share options.
📲 Embedded Podcasts – Integrated within articles for contextual listening.
Business Impact
The result of our efforts successfully transformed the "Learn" section into an engaging, accessible experience.
📊 Key Outcomes:
✔️ Increased engagement in the learning section.
✔️ Expanded content accessibility through transcripts.
✔️ Enhanced Buddies' reputation as an educational resource.
By anticipating barriers to accessibility and integrating thoughtful UX solutions, I ensured that all pet parents—regardless of hearing ability—could benefit from the content.
Final Thoughts
This project showcased my ability to:
✅ Identify gaps in accessibility and design inclusive solutions.
✅ Leverage research and UX strategy to enhance content engagement.
✅ Ensure seamless integration of new features into existing ecosystems.
By combining UX insight, accessibility best practices and thoughtful design, I helped Buddies create a richer, more inclusive learning experience for pet parents.
