Design Process
Preliminary Researchđź“ť
Where do we start?
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The biggest challenge is understanding which type of audience this app will find most useful. We knew we wanted to help manage plants for individuals who are only casual plant owners or novices. However, we needed additional information to understand which features would be applicable.Â
Our team conducted secondary research to understand the specific pain points our target audience may be facing. After narrowing our targeted user, we moved onto information architecture by creating site maps and user flows. Â
Once solutions were identified, we began sketching and designing low & high-fidelity mock-ups. In the end, we arrived at a working web-based minimal viable product and an interactive prototype of the final high-fidelity design.
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Research
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To understand the problem space and current market offerings, our team conducted secondary research. Â
‍The Problem
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‍Plants have different needs and react to sunlight, water, and soil. On top of differing needs, plants need consistent care to stay alive.  There are currently many free and paid apps designed to help users figure out what their plants need and how they can nurture them. However, we found many features that were missing.
‍The Competitive Landscape
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After reviewing and doing a qualitative analysis of major apps in the market, our team listed features that we noticed were missing:
Apps do not include adjusting light, rotating plots, repotting, and recommendations on what to do if leaves are yellow, etc.Â
Some apps include notifications that aren't tailored to the user, causing them to be snoozed (example. if it is too early to water).
Some apps have features that are locked behind a paywall.
The Target Audience
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Our goal was to learn more about what specific aspects plant takers note for care. Each interviewee was divided into their experience (novice, intermediate, or expert) and then was asked to list down associated pain points given. Â
This allowed us to see which features were shared and which were specific to each experience level. Our team was primarily interested in shared pain points among novices. However, we wanted to see if features would overlap between experience levels.
Our team thought this app would best serve two types of personas:
An individual that does not understand how to care for a plant and does not know where to start.
An individual that does not have the bandwidth to properly care for a plant and needs reminders.
Business & User Goals
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To further narrow our scope in creating a minimal viable product, an individual who does not understand how to care for a plant may still benefit from caring for a plant consistently. Although users may not understand all specific needs for their plant, they can take advantage of the foundational, basic needs to care for a plant.
The Design Process
‍Product Design ✏️
Information Architecture
Screens Map &Â Logic Flow
Screens map and logic flow were laid out to help us visually see what screens were needed for the app and how they communicate. This initial map of the flow is vital because the map lays out the information architecture for the back-end data models of our servers for development.
Screens Map &Â Logic Flow
Visual Design
Low Fidelity
Preliminary sketches and boxing allowed us to see if our design ideas and components were intuitive. Some initial design ideas were confusing from early feedback. For example, users weren’t sure how to search for all of their plants since we primarily only showed data and information for the current plant, and you were able to “swipe” left or right to see the data for more plants.
High Fidelity
Our design system was implemented to keep our components scalable, reusable and to enable faster design iterations per each feedback cycle. Our design system was the foundation for all our designs allowing us to quickly develop our MVP.
‍For the first solution, we focused on allowing the user to add their first plant. The user first creates their account so that they can have tailored notifications. They can search for their current plant within our database using PlantDB API. They can add associated details (ie. How much water does it need? Does it need direct or indirect sunlight?) to generate their own to-do list.
Low Fidelity to High Fidelity Iteration Mock-Up (Add Task)
Plant-forward storytelling.
We designed a virtual garden with customizable reminders, tasks and a searchable database to invite a new green child to your home.
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Your profile showcasing your garden.
Search to add more plants to your garden, find tips, and more.
Search for the most popular, common plants and filter the results.
Select and learn about a plant before adding it to your garden.
Schedule and add more tasks to care for your plant.
Customize the application to your needs.
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