PlantBuddy
The plant care app designed to promote well-being.
The mobile app that promotes the well-being of plants and plant owners.
Context
People want plants in their homes, but they struggle to integrate care activities into their daily routines. I am a plant lover myself and I need help in order to take care of my plants because, for unknown reasons, some of them get sick.
My role
UX Designer
Trade-offs & constrains
I focused on one user type: those with no plant care experience
The solution includes an IoT system, which I developed only at the sketch level.
Project milestones
The time limit helped me create tasks and plan ahead, especially for scheduling interviews and two testing rounds.
Overview of the final solution
Plant Buddy, the AI-powered companion for plant enthusiasts.
By simplifying complex information into easy-to-follow instructions, the app effortlessly manages daily plant-care activities:
personalized watering schedules
a growth diary
expert care advice.
Goal: improve daily life by fostering a healthy home environment.
Why is this problem important?
I started with secondary research to understand the benefits reported by plant owners, setting the stage for interviews.
I learned that the effort to grow a healthy plant is well worth it and the challenge is to create an application that makes this process as easy and accessible as possible.
How can I...
help people feel confident about their plant-care abilities?
Research plan
Research objectives
Understand the product’s specifics by exploring what brings joy and frustration in plant care
Identify the competitive landscape.
Methodologies
Competitive analysis
Semi-structured interviews
Persona
Participants
12 participants, including 8 plant owners, 2 non-owners, and 2 experts
Demography: Mixed gender, aged 26 to 54.
Journey map
User story
Competitors failing point: pushing on one main feature.
Taking into account very specific needs: the ones of the plant.
User needs
Identification of plant type and detailed descriptions
Reminders for care activities: to prevent forgetting to water or to confirm if someone else has already done so
Evaluation of environmental factors: light intensity, fertility, humidity, and soil pH
Check on plants and share care instructions for caregivers during holidays
Assistance in times of need.
Product-specific design principles
Just an idea is not good enough; I aim to bring value through the products I design.
Ideation: features that respect peoples’ time and help reclaim it
Ideation: features that help people connect deeper with plants
Personalized Schedule: Create tailored rituals for each user.
User Profile: Optional completion for users seeking expert advice later.
Thoughtful Communication: Even helpful notifications can cause anxiety.. Users can select which care activities to include in their calendar.
AI plant identifier: Employ artificial intelligence to identify plants accurately.
Share everything: Effortlessly share plant-care schedules, reports, and photos.
Access to a trusted expert: the user has the option to get advice from a network of horticulture specialists.
Track plants: create profiles for each plant and log their care activities over time.
Learn new skills: a database featuring species information, frequently asked questions, and plant care tips and tricks.
Document the journey: keep track of the progress of all plants in a collection.
Real-time information: unlike the less accurate classic methods that require experience, I explored the IoT path—utilizing sensors to track light, nutrition, soil humidity, pH, and temperature.
My sketch of the idea involves plants with physical sensors that transmit data via Bluetooth to a central connection linked to the house Wi-Fi. Due to time constraints, I didn't delve deeper into the design of the sensors.
Information architecture
Task flow
The user’s goal: to add a plant to his virtual garden.
I stripped the process down to a happy path to improve usability.
User Flow
User flows also informed the wireframe process in designing a suitable structure and hierarchy.
Testing early
I tested the hypothesis by converting pen-and-paper wireframe sketches into a prototype, making it scrollable on my phone.
In an exploratory session, I asked two participants to share their initial impressions of the app.
Iterations
Adding a plant to the user’s profile: the search capabilities remained the same, but the structure of the plant profile changed slightly.
Visual design
What iterations have been made
Gradual customization of the user's personal profile
The information initially required is minimal.
You can set the location so that the application takes into account the exact weather conditions when making care recommendations.
Personalized care information for each plant
The order of the plants shown was revised to indicate the plant that needs urgent attention.
Have your plant recognized by AI (you can add a new picture or search the gallery), or search for it in the library.
The option is to add plants with a nickname and a picture.
The sensor is recognized by scanning a QR code.
Adjustable level of customization
If you want, you can only receive standard care recommendations, depending on the type of plant you have, without the need to add a sensor.
The notifications you want to have
You can set reminders for each care activity.
You can follow the suggested time periods depending on the type of plant (or sensor recordings) or you can adjust the periods according to your own considerations.
Reminders are added to a calendar. You will not receive alert notifications. Gardening is a relaxing activity, which takes into account the personal rhythm.
Respecting time and increasing efficiency
It is estimated the time you have to allocate each day to care activities, depending on what you have to do and the number of plants. You know in advance how to organize your time.
Taking care of the plant's needs
For each plant that has a sensor, you can follow the evolution of the recordings during a month, and a photo album to keep track of the evolution of the plant. You can share this information with someone who wants to help you if the plant has problems.
The help of an expert for your plant
You can choose the expert according to the reviews received. You can filter the options according to fees and the language in which you can communicate.
You can book consultation sessions by chat or video call, in the desired time interval.
Before sending the schedule request, you can mention the problem you are addressing, you can attach the evolution of the plant through a photo album or the evolution of the indicators registered by the sensor.
Journal of plant evolution
Each plant can have a Bio, a diary in which the completed care actions and the attached photos of the plant are recorded.
This journal has the role of keeping track of the evolution of the plant correlated with the attention paid by the user.
Outcomes
Impact
Quantify the impact: because the app is useful if it is used regularly, the product engagement score (PES) is important, especially adoption and stickiness.
Next steps
Research and test if users would want a feature that would allow them to buy plants directly from the app
Voice integration - giving the user the power to ask about the status of their plants and reducing the amount of time a user needs to spend looking at their phone.