Husky ButterWalk

Estimated 2 minute read

Timeline

June 2025 - Present

My Role

UI/UX Design

User Testing

Team

Crystal Shen (UI/UX Lead)

Momoko Shindo (Design & Testing)

Qiulin Chen (Design & Testing)

Me! (Design & Testing)

Overview

Husky ButterWalk is a student-led project building a mobile application for the UW Police Department which digitizes and streamlines their current late-night safety ride service.

Problem

The current system relies on phone calls and leaves students waiting without information.

UWPD currently offers a service known as the Husky SafeTrip, which escorts students home from the hours of 6:30PM to 2AM in a car driven by a uniformed security guard. Right now however, this service is accessible only by phone call to the police department line, which can be inconvenient for both students and police. Dispatchers are often managing multiple responsibilities, and answering SafeTrip requests can take time away from higher-priority calls. In addition, students are typically asked to wait outside, sometimes for up to 30 minutes, without any notification of when the ride will arrive. This lack of communication can leave students feeling unsafe, ultimately undermining the purpose of the service itself.

Solution

Our app moves communication to mobile devices, streamlining requests & improving safety.

Husky ButterWalk addresses these issues by digitizing the Husky SafeTrip service through a mobile application designed for both students and drivers. Instead of calling the police department, students can request a ride directly through the app, reducing the burden on dispatchers and streamlining the request process. The app provides clear confirmation that a request has been received, along with updates on ride status and estimated arrival time, so students are not left waiting outside without information. By improving communication and setting clearer expectations, Husky ButterWalk helps the service function more efficiently while better supporting students’ sense of safety during late-night travel.

User Research

Interviews and testing shaped our specific design decisions on both sides of the service.

Our user research consisted of three main components. First, we interviewed Husky SafeTrip drivers to better understand their workflows, constraints, and pain points in managing ride requests. Next, we conducted interviews with students to learn about their experiences with late-night travel on campus, their awareness of SafeTrip, and any concerns that made the service difficult or uncomfortable to use. Finally, we ran user testing sessions with students using our app prototype to evaluate usability, clarity, and whether the design effectively addressed the issues identified earlier. Together, these methods helped ensure the app addressed real user needs on both sides of the service.

Visual Design

Purple & Gold

We chose a color palette centered on UW’s iconic purple and gold to reflect the identity and pride of the Husky community.

The dark purple anchors the design with a sense of reliability and safety, while the light purple and gold add contrast and diverse backgrounds throughout the interface. Together, these colors reinforce school spirit and make the app feel familiar and trustworthy to UW students.