TiriVelo
Showing pet owners exactly what a pet care marketplace checks before they hand over their keys
TiriVelo is a pre-launch marketplace in Toronto that connects pet owners with sitters and dog walkers. Every booking asks an owner to trust a stranger with their pet, and often with their keys.
TiriVelo already verified its providers, but none of that was public. My audit found the same trust promises worded differently across the product, response times that ranged from 15 minutes to 48 hours, and provider profiles where TiriVelo's badges looked identical to details providers typed in themselves.
As 1 of 3 student designers, I owned Trust and Safety. I designed a public page that explains how providers get approved and separates what TiriVelo checks from what providers say. The CEO signed off on it and chose 1 of the 2 directions I built.
Role
UX Designer, Trust and Safety
Industry
Pet Care Marketplace
Context
Designlab client project, 5 weeks
Year
2026
I wrote down my assumptions before opening a single file
With no users to interview, I listed what I believed first, so the audit could test those beliefs instead of confirming them. 2 of my 4 assumptions broke:
• I assumed background checks were already set up. The company hadn't chosen a provider yet.
• I assumed future providers were a side audience. The client said they were a primary one.
TiriVelo wasn't silent about trust. It was saying it inconsistently.
I went through their live website, design system, in-progress designs and policy documents. Here's what stood out:
• The same trust promises appeared as 3 different lists
• Response times conflicted: 15 minutes for emergencies, 24 hours in one report form, 24 to 48 hours in another and 5 to 10 business days for disputes
• Links in the footer and on provider profiles already pointed to a Trust and Safety page that didn't exist
• The biggest problem: on a profile, nothing told an owner which details TiriVelo had actually checked
I also built 2 personas, a first-time pet owner and a future provider. Since they came from client direction and the audit rather than interviews, I labeled them as assumptions so nobody would mistake them for research.
5 decisions that shaped the page
1. Give trust its own page. Rover and Wag both do this, and TiriVelo's links already pointed to one. The CEO and design lead agreed.
2. Separate what TiriVelo checks from what providers say. TiriVelo's checks sit in their own panel and provider details sit below as a plain list. My mentor pointed out that color alone fails people who are color blind, so color now supports the difference instead of carrying it.
TiriVelo's badges sit in their own panel. What providers list sits below.
3. Say plainly what TiriVelo doesn't do. The page states that TiriVelo doesn't supervise bookings or provide insurance. I borrowed Rover and Wag's structure but not their claims, since they offer guarantees TiriVelo doesn't.
4. Mark undecided content as pending, not missing. The background check step stayed on the page with its details marked as pending until TiriVelo picks a provider.
5. End with a clear next step. The page closes with how to report a concern and "In an emergency, contact emergency services first." It hands off to my teammate's Help and Support work instead of rebuilding it.
Early wireframe: the background check step marked as pending
Where TiriVelo's role starts and stops
The page ends with how to report a concern
With no users to test, feedback came from the client and my mentor
• The CEO found the badge section too dense, so each badge became one line with a row that opens for more detail
• He wanted the approval section to feel more alive, so I built 2 directions: steps alternating down the page and a stepper about 1,000 pixels shorter. He chose the alternating version.
• 2 sign-up steps happen at the same moment, so I merged them, taking the approval steps from 6 to 5
• I pushed back on merging identity verification with the background check. They use different companies, and only identity earns the Verified by TiriVelo badge. Merging them would make the badge look like it covers more than it does.
• My mentor flagged the legal risk of showing anything like a government ID, so I told the client 2 of the 5 steps had no honest image yet
• I extended TiriVelo's design system with 4 new components instead of inventing new patterns
Chosen: steps alternating down the page
The second direction: a stepper about 1,000 pixels shorter
"The Trust & Safety page required him to organize a significant amount of information around provider verification, safety practices, and trust signals while keeping the experience approachable and easy to understand."
Ryleigh Valladarez, Design Lead, TiriVelo
What's next
On a page about trust, the writing is the design. Every claim has to be one TiriVelo can stand behind. If I kept working on this, I would:
• Design a mobile web version, since many owners will open the website on their phones
• Run a quick test with 5 pet owners: show a profile and ask "Which of these did TiriVelo check?" before and after the redesign
• Hand the client one agreed set of trust wording and response times, so the whole product says the same thing
• Review every claim on the page with TiriVelo's legal team