FluentPet: Bridging Communication Between Pets and Humans

The Challenge

FluentPet makes augmentative communication buttons that teach pets — primarily dogs and cats — to express themselves using words. It's a genuinely innovative product that sits at the intersection of behavioural science, speech therapy research, and consumer pet tech. The hardware is compelling; the supporting mobile app had not kept pace. Users were struggling with onboarding, the button setup flow was confusing, and the overall experience undersold the magic of what FluentPet actually enables.

The design challenge was delicate: the app needs to serve two audiences simultaneously. First-time owners who just want to set up their buttons and get started, and deeply engaged users who want to track progress, log activity, and level up their pet's communication over time. A design that optimises for one risks alienating the other. We needed an experience that grows with the user.

Our Approach

We ran the full design process from scratch: wireframes through to high-fidelity UI and a complete clickable Figma prototype. Onboarding was our first priority. We stripped it back to what was essential — get the user to their first button set up and their first recorded communication as quickly as possible. Every unnecessary screen was removed, every instruction made shorter and clearer, and the visual design was given enough warmth and personality to match the joy of the product itself.

Navigation was restructured around what users actually do most: setting up buttons, tracking daily activity, and exploring their pet's communication history. We introduced a gamification-style reward and progress system that gives owners a sense of momentum — a meaningful addition given how long it can take to see breakthrough communication moments. Hardware integration flows were redesigned to be self-explanatory, significantly reducing the setup friction that was causing drop-off. Throughout, we maintained a visual language that felt friendly and approachable without being childish.

The Result

Over eight months, we delivered a fully redesigned mobile app experience: complete screen coverage from onboarding to advanced activity tracking, a structured component library for the engineering team, and a clickable prototype for user testing and stakeholder alignment. The new design handles both new and power users with clarity — simple enough to get started immediately, deep enough to support the long journey of teaching a pet to communicate.

The redesign gives FluentPet a product experience that finally matches the ambition of the hardware. Every screen is purposeful, every interaction considered. The result is an app that doesn't just support FluentPet's mission — it actively embodies it.