Project Name: VETS
Project Type: Veterinary Management System (Web Platform/Desktop App)
My Role: UX/UI Designer, User Researcher, and Interaction Designer
Tools Used: Figma
Timeline: 2 Months (8 Weeks)
VETS is a proposed next-generation veterinary management system designed to replace outdated legacy software and eliminate severe productivity efficiency barriers experienced by reception and assistant staff. Focusing on a Fast, Clean, and Automated user experience, VETS aims to streamline complex workflows, significantly reduce administrative time, and minimize visual strain and employee burnout.
The problem
The core problem is that veterinary management software suffers from fundamental flaws in workflow design and an antiquated UI that demand excessive manual steps, resulting in fragmented workflows, safety risks from lost context, and severe employee burnout.
The goal
VETS aims to eliminate staff burnout and maximize clinic efficiency by replacing fragmented legacy software with a fast, clean, and automated management system
Research & Core Insights: summary
The core insight that drove the design shift was realizing that the central issue was not technical slowness, but fundamental flaws in workflow design and antiquated UI that demanded excessive, repetitive manual steps. This realization shifted the focus from backend performance to creating a highly efficient Information Architecture (IA) to minimize deep navigation and consolidate critical data, thereby directly targeting cognitive load and process efficiency barriers.
User research: Competitive and Market Analysis
Contextual Inquiry and Hands-on Observation:
The research was primarily conducted through contextual inquiry, leveraging several years of domain experience as a veterinary assistant and reception manager. This approach involved hands-on observation.
Competitive and Market Analysis:
A rigorous analysis was performed on the existing VMS industry, including the Legacy System (used as an internal benchmark) and leading alternatives like Rapid Vet and Clinica online. This analysis involved rigorous Task Analysis combined with deep Internal Validation, providing an insider's perspective on where existing platforms fail.
Identifying Core Structural UX Failures in Legacy Systems
User research: Pain points
Even though those specific problems were from the old system we used, the main issues with how the work flows are the same. These structural problems also exist in the newer Rapid Vet system, which is what my study is focusing on.
Software Clumsiness and Time Waste
Existing systems are characterized by slow data loading, forcing staff to navigate multiple complex screens for simple tasks. Crucially, routine actions like sending a visit summary consume several minutes, often causing the system to stall or run slowly, directly impeding the employee's workflow.
Outdated User Experience
The antiquated design, coupled with high information density and visually harsh color palettes, leads to significant eye strain and impaired concentration during long shifts. This technical failing directly contributes to employee fatigue and burnout.
Slow Customer Service and Client Delays
The inefficiencies described above culminate in slow client discharge processes. When staff struggle to prepare, print, or manually send documents, it creates extended queues at the reception desk and leads to client frustration. Your system aims to specifically solve this delay at the moment of checkout.
Persona
Name: Lora
Age: 33
Education: High School Diploma
Family Status: Married +1
"I’m a total pro at this chaos—give me a full lobby and a vet note I need to decipher, I’ve got it! But honestly, every time that old system decides to freeze, it doesn't just halt my current client, it guarantees a mountain of extra work for tomorrow that only I can fix, and that's the real stress."
Goals
Lora’s overarching goal is to replace her slow, visually taxing legacy software with a fast, automated, and visually clean system that enables her to process clients quickly, manage complex schedules accurately, and maintain focus throughout high-pressure shifts.
Frustrations
Loss of control over her time and productivity:
- Wasted Valuable Time
- Damaged Client Service
- Visual Strain
Problem Statement:
Lora is a veterinary reception manager who needs a seamless, automated, and visually clean clinic management system because existing legacy software freezes the workflow for 3-5 minutes during critical tasks (like sending documents), causing significant client delays, staff eye strain, and general operational chaos.
LORA
User journey map
I mapped the current user journey based on the workflows observed in the Legacy System (Rapid Vet) to precisely quantify the friction points.
Vets Sitemap
The core goal of this structure is to eliminate that clunky navigation that constantly frustrated Lora and made the system freeze. The layout is flat and highly prioritized, so the important stuff is accessible in just one or two clicks—that's it!
Wireframes
Paper wireframes
Home page
Client profile page
Calendar page
Digital wireframes
1
The Non-Blocking Client Profile
This feature fundamentally solves the problem of information fragmentation and slow navigation ("Software Clumsiness").
The profile uses a three-column persistent layout.
Client and pet panel
This fixed panel ensures that the most critical patient information—Owner details, Pet vitals, and high-priority sections like ALERTS, NOTES, and Medication/Diet—is always visible without scrolling or navigating away. This clean design minimizes eye strain and prevents staff from missing crucial information, thereby maximizing effectiveness.
Main Content Panel
The Main Content Panel is the core of the Client Profile page and the only section that changes on the screen. It is designed to display the client's most detailed and in-depth records.
By default, it presents the Visit History, but its content dynamically changes based on the user's selection in the Quick Action Sidebar
Quick Action Sidebar
This vertical menu consolidates the most frequent administrative and clinical file actions (Visits, Labs, Prescriptions, Check-out, File Export, etc.) into a single, accessible column. This design focuses the user on the task at hand, saving time and reducing confusion in repetitive actions.
Main Content Panel options
The following visuals showcase additional screens within the Main Content Panel.
These examples illustrate how the central view dynamically changes when staff select different options from the Quick Action Sidebar.
The prototype includes views for Visit history, Medical Exam, Billing Summary, and Export Patient Records.
Solves Pain Points:
Workflow Fragmentation and Inefficiency
Persistent Context & Quick Rail: The three-column persistent layout and the Quick Navigation Rail eliminate the need for navigating multiple screens to retrieve core information. This allows staff to access Labs, Prescriptions, and Checkout with a single click.
Outdated User Experience
Error Prevention & Clarity: Critical information like ALERTS, NOTES, and Medication/Diet is permanently fixed in the left panel. This significantly reduces eye strain and prevents errors caused by visually harsh palettes.
Loss of Critical Context and Elevated Safety Risk
Accelerated Checkout: The Quick Navigation Rail includes dedicated, visible buttons for File Export and Checkout. This speeds up the client discharge process, which directly addresses the extended queues at the reception desk.
2
The Progress Bar
This feature directly enables staff to multitask, solving the problem of a "stalling" system that forces users to wait for actions to complete.
The system allows the user to continue working on other tasks while the progress bar automatically handles background actions, such as sending files (medical summaries, invoices, payment requests, client records).
Solves Pain Points:
Software Clumsiness and Time Waste
Non-Blocking Actions: The system allows the user to continue working on other tasks while the progress bar automatically handles background actions, such as sending files (invoices, medical summaries, client records). Impact: This eliminates the stall and slowness, freeing up the employee's workflow.
Slow Customer Service and Client Delays
Seamless File Discharge: By automating and handling file sending in the background, the staff no longer has to wait for emails to process, significantly reducing the time required to complete the client discharge.
ACTION
Open Client File
Send File via Email
Download Today's Visit Summary
THE STRUGGLE
(Repetitive Steps)
A. Open client platform.
B. I have to go to a separate screen just to search.
C. Search and locate the client, often by phone number.
A. Open the email app.
B. Download the lab results and save them manually.
C. Find the right folder, paste, and rename the file.
A. In the client's record, click 'Print File'.
B. Manually check all the boxes for everything I need.
C. Wait for the file without being able to do other work.
USER PAIN POINT
"It's annoying to take 3 steps just to start."
"It feels like I'm repeating the same work several times."
"It's frustrating to wait, and I wish the system could remember my usual document selections."
DESIGN OPPORTUNITY
Make the central search bar instantly available on the main screen (by Name/Phone).
Implement automatic file recognition and tagging directly in the client record (eliminating manual download/sorting).
Allow background processing so the user can multitask; add a "Save Preferences" option for document selection.
3
The Home Dashboard
The dashboard is the central hub for quick client processing and task management.
This feature directly enables staff to multitask, solving the problem of a "stalling" system that forces users to wait for actions to complete.
The system allows the user to continue working on other tasks while the progress bar automatically handles background actions, such as sending files (medical summaries, invoices, payment requests, client records).
Solves Pain Points:
Software Clumsiness and Time Waste
Client Management Panel: Quick access to Client Search and Quick Actions allows staff to handle immediate tasks from the dashboard, eliminating unnecessary navigation.
Outdated User Experience
Doctor Messages: Centralizes communication, ensuring all notes are digitally clear and legible. Impact: This directly eliminates the confusion and errors caused by relying on manual, illegible handwriting.
4
Instant Confirmation: Immediately upon booking an appointment, a pop-up window appears displaying the full appointment and client details.
Schedule Confirmation Pop-up
Error Mitigation: This pop-up offers an immediate option to send the appointment details via WhatsApp or Email to the client.
This provides the client with an instant, written summary, which significantly reduces the likelihood of future mistakes, missed appointments, or time confusion.
Solves Pain Point:
Slow Customer Service and Client Delays
Error Mitigation and Call Reduction: Immediately upon booking an appointment, a pop-up allows staff to instantly send the appointment details via WhatsApp/Email. Impact: This provides the client with a written, immediate confirmation, which drastically reduces future client confusion and the subsequent time staff spends fielding corrective phone calls.
Usability study
Parameters
Study type:
Moderated usability study
Location:
Israel, center
Participants:
5 participants
Length:
15-25 minutes
Findings
1
Progress Bar Visibility and Interpretation:
Users noted that the Progress Bar was "not prominent enough at first glance" and thus failed to fully meet its goal of confirming action execution while enabling multitasking.
An attempt to fix this by changing the entire header color was abandoned because users misinterpreted the dramatic color change as a signal that they needed to wait for the operation to complete.
The final fix was a subtle UI refinement: emphasizing the Progress Bar alone by changing its border thickness and outward orientation.
2
Lack of Confirmation in Client Discharge:
During the critical client checkout process, users were unsure if the receipt was automatically sent to the customer.
This confusion was exacerbated by the presence of a "send receipt again" button.
To provide definitive closure and prevent unnecessary repeated actions, the solution was the addition of a checkmark (V) and confirming text to explicitly assure the staff that the receipt had been automatically dispatched.
3
Search Inconsistency and Icon Ambiguity:
The study identified two issues related to navigational uniformity and clarity:
Search Inconsistency: An inconsistency was found in the client search process when comparing the Home Dashboard search with the Calendar search. This required shortening and deleting an extra button in the Calendar search flow to make the process consistent and less complicated.
Icon Clarity: Due to the complexity of the VMS system and its many options, some icons were initially unclear. The solution was to clarify the icons by adding descriptive text upon hovering (on hover).
1
Progress Bar Visibility and Interpretation:
2
Lack of Confirmation in Client Discharge:
3
Icon Ambiguity:
High-fidelity prototype
Tablet Mockups
The Design System
Typography
I selected Inter as the primary typeface for VETS because it was specifically engineered for computer screens and complex user interfaces.
In a high-pressure veterinary environment, font choice directly impacts patient safety and operational speed.
HEADLINE1
H1 / INTER / SEMI BOLD 20PX
HEADLINE2
H2 / INTER / REGULAR 20PX
HEADLINE3
H3 / INTER / REGULAR 16PX
HEADLINE4
H4 / INTER / LIGHT 16PX
HEADLINE5
H5 / INTER / REGULAR 12PX
PARAGRAPH
P / INTER / LIGHT 14PX
Color Palette
The color strategy for VETS was designed to transition from the harsh, antiquated palettes of legacy systems to a modern, high-contrast yet soothing environment. Every color was chosen to reduce cognitive load and enhance the user's focus during long shifts.
Primary Colors
1A4E75
A7D7C5
FFF3B0
FFFFFF
Secondary Colors
333333
D3EBE2
FFF9D7
F2F5F7
FFF3B0
Warm Cream: Used for highlighting and notifications.
It draws attention to important notes or alerts
FFFFFF
+
F2F5F7
These light neutrals are used for backgrounds and card structures to create "White Space," allowing the UI to breathe and making the information-dense clinical pages feel organized and manageable.
D3EBE2
+
FFF9D7
These serve as background fills for different sections or categories (like owner info vs. pet info). By using these subtle tints, I created a visual separation of data without needing heavy borders or lines, which significantly reduces UI clutter.
333333
Deep Charcoal: Used for body text instead of pure black to soften the contrast against white backgrounds, further preventing eye fatigue.
1A4E75
Deep Navy: Used for primary navigation and key actions. It establishes a sense of professionalism, trust, and authority
A7D7C5
Soft Mint: The primary brand color, representing healing and nature.
Components
Buttons
Cards/Containers
Iconography
Style: Line icons
Stroke Weight: bigger icons - 2px, smaller icons - 1 px
Going forward
Takeaways
Impact:
The new design replaced fragmented workflows with a cohesive digital experience, empowering veterinary teams to focus less on navigating software and more on providing medical excellence.
Quote from study participant:
"In VETS, everything from consultation summaries to invoices is accessible and seamless, whereas in Rapid, you have to navigate through at least three different screens just to perform the same tasks. Additionally, while Rapid uses an overwhelming palette of bright, meaningless colors, VETS offers a clean, organized, and professional interface that is much easier on the eyes."
What I learned:
Empathy is the key to efficiency:
Understanding the high-pressure environment of a veterinary clinic was crucial. Design isn't just about aesthetics; it’s about reducing stress for the user in critical moments.
Simplifying complexity is a process:
I learned that managing complex data doesn't mean removing it, but rather organizing it in a way that respects the user's cognitive load and prioritizes the right information.
Next steps
1
Multi-Device Expansion:
Tablet Integration:
Completing mockups and activating the prototype for tablets to provide the full range of PC-based clinical actions on a mobile screen.
Mobile "Last Resort" Version:
Defining a limited mobile interface specifically for field use or emergencies. This version will be read-only, allowing veterinarians to view critical data like safety alerts, medical history, blood tests, and allergies without the ability to add appointments or process payments.
2
Medical Content Depth and Scheduling Intelligence:
To make the software more robust for medical professionals, the following features will be added:
Enhanced Medical Profiles:
The client profile will be upgraded to include dedicated categories for Vaccinations and Laboratory Files, providing a more comprehensive view of the patient’s health.
Calendar Density Indicators:
To improve time management, the weekly and monthly calendar views will be enhanced with a density indicator (similar to a progress bar). This will allow staff to see at a glance how full a specific day or week is (e.g. "90% full"), aiding in more efficient booking.
Thank you
for taking the time to review this project!
I’m always open to discussing new opportunities or diving deeper into my design process. Feel free to explore more of my work or reach out directly to connect!