Role
Co-founder
Product designer
Timeline
3 months (ongoing)
Tools
Figma
FigJam
Adobe Illustrator
Team
Arin Jain (PM)
Andrew Choi (Dev)
Jesse Tzo (Dev)
BACKGROUND
From personal frustration to purpose
I still remember calling my vet’s office multiple times, trying to track down Snowball's (my sweet and slightly chaotic husky) records from our previous clinic. The files hadn’t been sent digitally, only as physical copies, so the staff had to manually sort through paper documents just to find basic information. Arin, my team's product manager and fellow dog owner of Cosmo, had experienced similar inefficiencies: delayed lab results, missed follow-ups, and disorganized communication across phone calls and paper trails.
These shared frustrations led our team to co-found Vetrail, a platform aimed at streamlining communication and client management for veterinary clinics. The idea was developed as part of USC's LavaLab, a startup incubator that brings together student entrepreneurs to build innovative products. Over several months, I led the design process while collaborating with a team of one product manager and two developers.
PROBLEM
Clinic chaos: disconnected systems left staff overwhelmed
Research & User interviews
To design a product that truly addressed the needs of veterinary clinics and pet owners, our team conducted extensive user research. Our goal was to deeply understand how information flowed between clinics and pet owners — and where it broke down. Here were some of the main questions we had asked the vets:
This included interviews with over 20 veterinary professionals — vets, vet techs, and receptionists — to identify the most pressing challenges they faced in day-to-day operations. Here are the main pain points that we discovered:
Inefficient communication
Veterinary clinics were overwhelmed with phone calls and in-person requests from clients.
Manual data entry
A significant amount of time for vet clinics was spent manually entering new client information.
Minimal digitalization
Clients relied on physical copies or phone calls to access their pets' medical records.
Complex test results
Test and lab results are hard to interpret, requiring extra time for vets to explain to clients.
The vet clinics we interviewed with receive 150+ calls daily, with 3 receptionists working simultaneously. Clinic staff were overwhelmed by constant updates, lab result follow-ups, and scheduling issues. It was clear that something needed to change. Our team saw a clear opportunity for digital solutions to simplify communication, reduce overload, and improve client experience.
SOLUTION
Reducing manual tasks by 70% to enhance clinic efficiency
Vetrail is a platform that streamlines veterinary clinic operations and transforms client communication, making it easier for clinics to manage care and for pet owners to stay informed.
AI-summarized test results
Vets can upload test result documents, in which users (pet owners) can quickly access. Once the user clicks in, AI will analyze and summarize the results.
Easy uploads
Veterinary clinics can quickly upload and securely store documents like doctor's notes and lab results, streamlining document management and improving workflow efficiency.
Scheduling
The scheduling feature lets clinics manage appointments, customize availability, and send automated reminders, reducing no-shows and simplifying bookings.
Messaging
Direct messaging lets pet owners easily communicate with their clinic for questions, updates, and reminders, ensuring quick, secure exchanges without phone calls.
DESIGN PROCESS
Figuring out the best way to optimize efficiency for both clinics and their clients
User flow & journey
To ensure that Vetrail served both veterinary staff and pet owners seamlessly, we initially mapped out two distinct but interconnected user flows — one for clinic staff and one for clients. This helped us align our design decisions around key actions for each user.
From concept to structure
With the user flow clearly defined, I translated our key tasks and pain points into mid-fidelity wireframes to begin shaping the platform's layout and functionality. At this stage, the focus was on structure over style: prioritizing usability, content hierarchy, and interaction clarity. These wireframes laid the foundation for user testing and allowed our team to align quickly around layout decisions before diving into high-fidelity design.
Testing & refining iterations
After sharing mid-fidelity wireframes with our design partners, we gathered feedback from both clinic staff and pet owners to better understand how users navigated the interface. Here’s a look at three major iterations of the client dashboard:
V1: The initial layout lacked clear visual hierarchy, making it difficult for users to quickly locate important information such as appointment time, billing, and recent messages.
V2: While we improved spacing and alignment, users still felt overwhelmed by the density of information. Pet owners noted that they weren’t sure where to focus first.
V3: In this version, we simplified the layout, prioritized the appointment details at the center, and grouped related information more clearly. This version received positive feedback for its balance of clarity and functionality.
Through each round of iteration, we learned to reduce unnecessary content, improve spacing, and align our visual priorities with user mental models.
Crafting the brand identity
When developing the brand identity for Vetrail, my goal was to create a visual language that felt trustworthy and warm. Since the platform centers around pet care, something deeply personal for users, it was important that the branding evoke a sense of comfort and reliability without feeling too clinical.
I wanted Vetrail to help make pet owners feel confident in its reliability. The color palette and overall design were shaped to reflect that balance between warmth and professionalism, making sure the platform felt approachable without losing the sense of care and credibility needed for managing things like health records and appointments.
Typography, color, and iconography were chosen to communicate clarity and ease, helping users navigate. Overall, the branding was crafted to reflect Vetrail: a compassionate, digitalized tool built to support the everyday needs of people who care about pets.
IMPACT & RESULTS
Paw-sitively impactful: gaining validation and early success
Since launching our MVP, we’ve successfully onboarded three veterinary clinics as design partners — located in Cincinnati, San Jose, and Davis. These early adopters provided critical real-world feedback, helping us validate our core features and refine pain points in scheduling, communication, and document sharing.
Through these partnerships, we’ve:
Reduced time spent on phone calls by surfacing common client questions through the messaging system
Improved appointment follow-through by enabling automated confirmations
Tested and improved our AI-powered test result summaries with real clinic data
These collaborations have shaped Vetrail into a more focused, user-informed product. We are continuing to grow Vetrail as a startup, expanding our reach and iterating on the product to meet the evolving needs of veterinary clinics.
Pitch decks
Our team participated in a pitch competition where we pitched in front of 3 VCs. These are the slide decks that I designed for Vetrail. (Click above to view)
And finally... a HUGE shoutout to my amazing team - Arin, Andrew, and Jesse - for their unwavering support and hard work throughout this journey! Couldn't have asked for a better team.
