Overhauling a dusty, uninviting & overwhelming product
Wisdom Panel
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Ultimate responsible and relationship owner
Product strategy
End to end user experience design
Design look & feel lead, collaborating with x1 brand designer
Co-creator of all product copy, collaborating with x1 copywriter
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Mars-owned Wisdom Panel offered an incredible product: a dog DNA test that revealed a pet’s breed make-up, behavioural tendencies, and potential medical needs. Despite this value, the brand faced declining sales year-on-year. Their assessment? Outdated, uninspiring 90s-era branding that failed to connect with modern audiences and wasn’t holding up to aggressive competition.
On closer inspection, the challenge was even greater: the digital experience was science-first, people-second. The product was weighed down by text-heavy, jargon-filled content and an unintuitive, poorly optimised design. The product was in essence the digital report, and it was difficult to navigate, lacked mobile optimisation, and failed to clearly communicate its value. This not only discouraged pre-sales but also diminished post-purchase satisfaction because of the resulting calls to customer service as people tried to figure out how to navigate the document. This led to reduced organic advocacy and to people looking at the main competitor, Embark, for repeat sales.
Suspecting the need for a fundamental shift, I proposed an ambitious full-scale redesign of the digital product. With tight budgets, I brought together a lean but powerful team: a brand designer, a copywriter, and myself as UX Lead. Our goal? To make the Wisdom Panel experience accessible, engaging, and human-centred—without losing the scientific integrity at its core.
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User research
To validate the hypothesis in a timely and cost effective way, we reviewed the most frequent customer service themes, which clearly confirmed the pain points: unclear pre-sales content, overwhelming scientific jargon, and a lack of intuitive functionality in the digital report. Armed with these insights, we moved swiftly to redesign the product structure and experience from pre-sales through to the final report.
Content mapping, prioritisation, and hierarchy
We overhauled the information architecture to create a smoother, more user-focused journey. Pre-sales content was clarified and brought to the forefront, ensuring users knew exactly what to expect from the product. In the final report, we recessed detailed scientific information into optional “learn more” sections. This prioritisation allowed users to absorb the most critical insights without unnecessary distraction while enabling deeper exploration for those who chose to dive in.
We also introduced social sharing opportunities at key moments, making it easy for users to share their results and organically advocate for the product. Additionally, we embedded upgrade prompts, such as unlocking deeper medical insights, at points where they would feel most valuable and relevant to the user experience.
User experience design
To streamline navigation, we incorporated intuitive functionality that guided users through the report, allowing them to easily track their progress and find the most relevant sections. Responsive design enhanced usability across devices, introducing dynamic elements like parallax scrolling and responsive touch interactions. These subtle features added visual interest and a sense of interactivity that reinforced user decisions and engagement.
Design language
Recognising that users purchased the product to better understand their much-loved pets, we moved away from sterile, scientific visuals to an emotional and approachable design language. Origami-inspired elements reflected the unfolding of a dog’s DNA, while a fresh, vibrant colour palette and playful, charming language brought warmth and accessibility to the experience. These design choices ensured the product resonated with users on a deeply personal level while maintaining its scientific credibility.
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The redesign saw astonishing success across multiple metrics. Annual sales increased from 500% from £5M to £30M, attributed by key client to the improved digital product and brand experience.
The new product registration interface enabled a 50% increase in first-party data capture, creating better retargeting opportunities. Combined with the updated creative, this drove a 47% increase in website conversions.
The redesigned report became significantly more shareable, leading to a 70% increase in social shares. This added a vital layer of endorsement for the product, particularly among younger, mobile-native audiences.
Despite initial challenges transitioning older, less tech-savvy users to the new format, satisfaction levels held steady, and we saw a marked decrease in customer support calls about report navigation or result validity, saving significant costs.
By seamlessly integrating clearer content, optimised UX, and a relatable design language, the project created an emotionally engaging, scientifically credible experience that drove advocacy, adoption, and significant growth.
The digital product before
A kitchen sink approach: overwhelmingly text heavy; disjointed use of graphics and imagery, little structure to guide the eye or break down the take out. Resulting in high numbers of customer service calls for clarity and instruction.
The first page greeting the owner upon opening the report
Information around each breed identified in the dog’s make up
Information around adult weight forecasting
The digital product after
A copy light, clearly signposted report facilitating self guided discovery of the need to know, with a deeper dive for those who want it - whether on desktop or on mobile
The revised homepage, making it easy for the owner to see what sections of the report exist, and which to dive in first
A responsive side panel navigation showed the breakdown of each session, as well as the owner’s progression through the report.
Information around each breed identified in the dog’s make up was streamlined, simplified, and chunked in a way that made it easier for the owner to explore. Responsive circles on the image allowed for a deeper dive.
Prompts at the end of the article encourage the owner to keep exploring.
We were mindful of how to include the science is a way which wouldn’t overwhelm or spook, drawing in the brand expressions to help break down serious topics and make the key takeouts explicit but approachable.
Information around adult weight forecasting was chunked up so the most important take outs shone out. A simple single tap quiz directs the owner expressly to the guidance they need to know.
We incorporated social sharing mechanisms at appropriate junctures in the journey, so owners could share their dog’s story - and advocacy for the product.
Where to now?