Savannah, GA

Emma Wu
PRODUCT DESIGN · 3 DESIGN AWARDS, 2025

A smart feeder that weighs your dog at every meal.

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A smart feeder that weighs your dog at every meal — so weight management happens without extra effort.

Date
January 2025
Category
Product Design
Team
Qiling Chen, Yiming Han, Yi He
Duration
10 weeks
Awards
IDA Bronze · MUSE Silver · NY Product Design Silver (2025)
See the IDA winner page ↗
Fitfido feeder with a corgi eating Fitfido product render Fitfido feeder and app Fitfido poster: weighs while it feeds

My role

I reframed the project from a list of features into one research-driven system, connecting feeding, weighing and calorie tracking in a single feedback loop.

  • Research synthesis & strategy
  • Framework & interaction design
  • Low- to high-fidelity prototyping
THE PROBLEM

59% of dogs are overweight. Most owners never notice.

01

The problem

Pet obesity is common, under-noticed and hard to fix.

High prevalence

Most dogs are overweight.

Weight issues are no longer isolated cases but a widespread health concern.

59%

of dogs are overweight or obese

Perception gap

Owners rarely notice.

The gap between actual weight and owner awareness means many cases go unrecognized.

17%

of owners think their dog is overweight

Unsuccessful attempts

Trying isn’t enough.

Even when owners act, results are inconsistent or short-lived.

73%have tried to
slim their dog
65%report limited
success
Health consequences

It costs years.

Excess weight shortens lifespan and raises the risk of chronic illness.

Lifespan −2 years
More diseases
More aggression
Growing market

The demand is real.

Pet obesity management and pet tech are both expanding fast.

$10BObesity mgmt.
2024
$5BPet tech
2024
$30BPet tech
2033
Problem statementPet weight management lacks an integrated, sustainable system for consistent, long-term health tracking.
02

Research

Weight control depends on manual effort and routine.

We interviewed 11 dog owners — of overweight, previously overweight and healthy-weight dogs — about feeding habits, portion control and health tracking.

20insights on balanced feeding habits
8insights on accurate measurement
Interview synthesis board

02 What owners told us

Weight control depends on manual effort and routine.

Finding 01 / 04Finding 02 / 04Finding 03 / 04Finding 04 / 04

Portions are estimated, not measured.

Weight tracking is inconsistent and rarely sustained.

Owners feel unsure about their food choices.

Health data is fragmented and hard to read over time.

03

Opportunity

Put the scale inside the routine.

Embedding weighing into feeding removes the separate tracking step, so data is collected every meal without extra effort.

Fitfido

Competitors only solve part of it.

Competitor comparison: only Fitfido combines active weighing, AI feeding, health insights and calorie detection
04

Key features

Every meal becomes a health check.

04 Key features

Active weighingWeight-driven AI feedingHealth insightsSmart calorie detection

01 · Smart Scale02 · AI Diet Impact03 · Weight Goal04 · Food Scan

A built-in scale weighs your dog at every meal. No separate weigh-ins, no guesswork.

Portions adjust to weight trends. To keep Mercy on track, the app trims tonight’s dinner from 150 g to 135 g.

Every meal becomes a data point. Weight, calories and goals turn into clear progress in the app.

Scan a treat or a bag of food and Fitfido counts the calories, so portions stay accurate.

05

Companion app · Two prototypes

The app went through two rounds. Try both.

Everything that looks tappable works, and both scroll like the real app. Notes follow along, and in the second one each change appears when you reach it.

Fitfido companion mobile UI screens

Keep scrolling

Before First prototype

After Second iteration

Next project

Brilliant.org

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