Project 1. Toy "Syrok" for dogs

Task

The team had no prior experience in developing pet products, so everything had to be learned from scratch: consulting with manufacturers, testing materials, and gathering feedback on the go. The timeline was tight, and the project might not have succeeded if we hadn't found a sustainable solution.

The main challenge was durability. The toy needed to withstand active play by dogs while maintaining its shape and graphics.

I tested each prototype on my own dog, Okhra. If the toy didn't last at least 10 minutes, the iteration was considered unsuccessful. Okhra tore one of the early samples apart in a couple of minutes, which quickly helped identify weaknesses in the design.

We experimented with materials:

Canvas – durable but didn't allow for fine graphic printing.

Embroidery – made the text unreadable.

Thin fabrics – held the print well but tore at the corners.

Printing the graphics became a particular challenge — it was important for us to preserve the stylish illustrations created by our graphic designers, but technical limitations hindered achieving legibility.

Solution

After several dozen iterations, we found the right balance: the toy was designed with a double-layer construction:

The bottom layer of pink canvas provides strength;

The top layer of Oxford fabric allows for printing highly detailed graphics.

This way, we preserved the brand's signature style and achieved the desired durability.

Project 2. Package for cats

Task

Create a reusable bag toy that cats can play with just like an ordinary shopping bag, but in a safe way and featuring Samokat's branding.

Complexities

Predicting cat behavior is impossible. We knew that many pets enjoy crinkly bags, so we decided to preserve this "magical" feature. However, soft fabrics lost their shape and did not make a crinkly sound, while dense ones hindered the cat's play.

Another issue was the construction. The pattern of a classic plastic bag turned out to be too complex to reproduce in fabric, so we had to simplify the design and experiment with the number of layers to maintain lightness and the characteristic "crinkling" sound.

Testing

We tested the samples on our own pets. My cats, Muscat and Grappa, were indifferent, so I passed some of the samples to my colleagues. They recorded their cats' reactions, and based on these videos, we refined the design.

Cat reactions were predictably unpredictable: some played with enthusiasm, while others remained indifferent. On average, it was about 50/50, which is probably the ideal result in the world of cats.

The zoo capsule project demonstrated that even the most "fun" products require a careful UX approach and engineering thinking. We learned to consider pet behavior, production constraints, and the brand's signature style, creating items that bring smiles to both people and animals.