Zoosync
Categories
Product Design
Team
Bill Flora
Project
Zoosync for Zookeepers
Timeline
6 weeks
Year
2025
Zookeepers are responsible for feeding, enrichment, health checks, documentation, and emergency response across multiple enclosures — most of it on their feet, in the moment. A lot of this work still relies on manual logging or clunky systems, which means time spent writing things down instead of watching the animals. ZooSync is a mobile app concept designed to fit into that reality without getting in the way.
Zookeepers are responsible for feeding, enrichment, health checks, documentation, and emergency response across multiple enclosures — most of it on their feet, in the moment. A lot of this work still relies on manual logging or clunky systems, which means time spent writing things down instead of watching the animals. ZooSync is a mobile app concept designed to fit into that reality without getting in the way.
I worked with a team of four over five weeks, with Bill Flora as our client. I proposed focusing the project specifically on zookeeper workflows — which became the foundation for the concept — and took primary ownership of the product direction and final UI.
We grounded the project in research before touching screens: daily schedules, physical constraints, survey responses from working zookeepers, and an audit of existing zoo management tools. The patterns that emerged — time pressure, information overload, safety-critical updates — shaped every decision that followed. We used a product pyramid to prioritize: animal welfare first, then reducing logging friction, then making emergencies impossible to miss.
I worked with a team of four over five weeks, with Bill Flora as our client. I proposed focusing the project specifically on zookeeper workflows — which became the foundation for the concept — and took primary ownership of the product direction and final UI.
We grounded the project in research before touching screens: daily schedules, physical constraints, survey responses from working zookeepers, and an audit of existing zoo management tools. The patterns that emerged — time pressure, information overload, safety-critical updates — shaped every decision that followed. We used a product pyramid to prioritize: animal welfare first, then reducing logging friction, then making emergencies impossible to miss.
The interface is intentionally calm and durable. High contrast, simple layouts, nothing competing with the content. Voice input for logging observations without stopping work. Emergency alerts that cut through everything else. The goal was a tool that disappears into the workday rather than demanding attention from it.
The interface is intentionally calm and durable. High contrast, simple layouts, nothing competing with the content. Voice input for logging observations without stopping work. Emergency alerts that cut through everything else. The goal was a tool that disappears into the workday rather than demanding attention from it.
