Plantellia.
Enabling plant enthusiasts to select and nurture their plants
Project Brief
It also allows them to remember to take care of their plants, provide all the info and tips they need in the care process, and discover what's going wrong with them if they do not seem well.
Challenges
Plantellia is an app that helps green lovers choose plants that fit their needs and environment without frustration.
Pain point choice
● People struggle to choose a plant that fits their needs and environment.
Pain point info
● They lack the information needed to take care of their plants.
Pain point memory
● They often forget about taking care of their plants at the right time.
User research.
We conducted user focused research to better understand their needs and pain points
User interviews
Interview questions surround green lovers' overall journey and the process they pursue to choose a plant and take care of it. The questions try to unveil users' behaviors, the challenges they face, and their goals and motivations.
Overall, we've 1:1 interviewed a diverse group of 8 green lovers.
Affinity Diagram
To better analyze research findings, we've grouped them into different themes and patterns like pain points, needs, and goals...
Empathy Map
I've utilized empathy mapping to highlight key research findings across all user types and aid in our decision-making. This helped me make inferences about our users based on their behavior, prioritize where our focus lay, and determine the most important takeaways.
Does
● Forgets about taking care of their plants when the time comes.
● Going from store to store to chose a plant that fits them
● Do a lot of online research in an attempt to know what's wrong with their plants.
Says
"I hate it when one of my plants is sick, and I don't know what to do"
"Choosing a plant from all those options I have is overwhelming."
"I couldn't manage to do all of the care tasks for all of my plants, it seems easy, but it's so hard."
Thinks
● Finding reliable info on the internet regarding plant care is so difficult.
● It's impossible to remember all care tasks at the exact time.
● It's hard to tell whether a plant fits the user's environment well.
Feels
● Overwhelmed when they see all types of plants and don't know which one fits them.
● Confused by all the info they finds online on how to cake care of their plants.
● Regretful about forgetting to take care of one of their plants.
Personas
Those two personas represent two types of users; the first is struggling with choosing a plant, and the second one represents those having problems taking care of them.
Persona I: A green lover who wants to choose a plant
Persona II: A plant owner who wants to take care of their plants
Pain points
I synthesized the bulk of insights into three overarching pain points that can serve as guidelines for future design. These Three pain points are the problems that Plantellia strives to solve.
01
Pain point choice
Users need to know what plants fit their needs and environment.
02
Pain point info
Users need to access the reliable info needed to take care of their plants.
03
Pain point memory
Users need to remember all the care tasks required for their plants.
Competitive Analysis
This spreadsheet summarizes the competitive audit we've performed to compare the user experience of our competitors.
Planta
PictureThis
Gardenia
plea.perge
This spreadsheet summarizes the competitive audit we've performed to compare the user experience of our competitors.
GOOD
+Identify plants with camera.
+ Informative guideline.
+ Create your own collection
+ Diagnose plant problems.
+ Consult botanists for any questions.
GOOD
+App available in many languages.- Menu isn't compatible with screen reader technology.
OUTSTANDING
+Easy to find key info.
+Home page is simple and clear.
GOOD
+Easy to navigate + Familiar ways of navigation (e.g. swipe..)
GOOD
+Automatically applicable full care reminder.
+Informative guideline.
+ Plant recommendations.
+ Discover with light meter feature plants for every corner
NEEDS WORK
+Images of items are clear and legble.
- App only available in English
- Menu isn't compatible with screen reader technology.
- The icons meaning isn't
NEEDS WORK
- No clear hierarchy, difficult to go back to previous steps.
- You need to search to find out outdoor or indoor plants.
OKAY
+Clear indication of clickable elements.- Somewhat difficult to navigate.
OKAY
+Explore 2000+ plants species database.
+ Garden Manager where you find your plants.
+ Plant info and tips
+ Gardening reminder.
NEEDS WORK
+Animations added to enhance the mobile experience
- There's no screen reader for visually impaired people.
- App only available in English
- The icons meaning isn't
GOOD
+ Fun to use.
- There's no homepage where you can access all the features.
NEEDS WORK
+Difficult to navigate due to empty homepage.
- Some elements seem clickable but are not.
OUTSTANDING
+Online ordering feature.
+ Offering plants according to the size.
+ Offering plants for beginners.
+ Personal plant selection.
+ Suggesting plant selection.
NEEDS WORK
+Images of menu items are clear and legible.- Only available in German- Menu isn't compatible with screen reader technology
GOOD
+ Easy to find key info and menu
+ Homepage is simple and clear
GOOD
+Easy to navigate.
+ Clear indication of clickable elements.
Gaps
● There's no easy way to find a shortlist of plants that fit users' needs and environment.
● When they try to set a care reminder, there's no way users can access the care info they need from there.
Opportunities
● We can create a feature where users can filter plants according to their environment.
● Enable users to access care info and tips from the same screen where they set a care reminder.
Ideation
Generating possible solutions based on defined user needs
Brainstorming
HMW questions helped us generate many valuable ideas about resolving each pain point identified earlier.
User journey map
I've used this user journey map for the aggregated persona to understand better what issues our users face at every stage of their journey and generate prospect solutions for each of those issues.
key features
After conducting a prioritization session, we've ended up with those proposed solutions.
01
Search Filters
Enable users to use advanced filters relating to their home conditions, plant care, and other factors that make finding a suitable plant more accessible.
02
Plant profile
In this info-rich yet organized section, we intend to include all the information users need about the plant and tips from fellow plant owners.
03
Care reminder
This feature is critical to our users because most of the users we've interviewed complained about forgetting to take care of their plants.
Sketches
We've used the Crazy Eight technique to turn the proposed solutions into sketches.
Prototyping & Testing.
Starting to make our solutions concrete and realistic
User flow diagram
A closer look at the user flows across the main journey compartments enabled me to refine the product architecture, which meant fewer steps for the users.
Wireframes
These digital wireframes represent the four main sections of the app, where I've used flat navigation to make it easier for users to move across app sections.
Usability study
To evaluate this prototype, I conducted a remote un-moderated usability study with 5 participants from our user base. The goal of this study is to spot serious usability issues concerning the app's structure and user flow.
Study Questions
● How effortless is it to complete tasks pertaining to each of the two user types?
● How well does our assumed user flow align with our users' approach?
● Do users think those features are helpful and/or valuable?
● Are there any design changes we can make to improve the user experience?
user Tasks
● Go to one of the recommended plant profiles, then figure out how to water it.
● Try to set a care reminder for the plant.
● Identify a plant using the camera feature.
first round
After I observed participants' movement patterns and their ability to meet their goals while completing the task scenarios, I discovered the following themes and insights:
Themes
● The care reminder button is difficult to notice and unrecognizable.
● It wasn't clear to users which section they're supposed to find the camera feature.
● The bell icon isn't a good representation of the reminder feature.
Insights
● Users need a care reminder button that’s more clear and more noticeable.
● The bell icon needs to be changed into a more convenient and descriptive one.
● The camera feature needs to be more clear and persistent throughout the app.
Prioritized Iterations
Through multiple rounds of feedback, we were able to decrease the cognitive load of our users and make critical information more accessible at a higher level.
Iteration #1
Add the camera identifier feature to bottom navigation instead of the 'Identify' section.
Iteration #2
Change the reminder button in the plant profile and move it to be front and center.
second round
In this second round of usability study, we aimed to discover issues we overlooked in the first round and test the effect of visual choices on usability.
Themes
● The label and icon of the "find" section don't communicate the section's content.
● The plant profile info badges appear clickable, making them confusing to users.
● The Reminder button still needs to be made easier to recognize by users.
Insights
● The info badges need to appear unclickable and distinguishable from other cards.
● Users need a button that’s easier to notice and recognize.
● Users need a more descriptive label and icon for the 'Find' section.
Prioritized Iterations
Through multiple rounds of feedback, we were able to decrease the cognitive load of our users and make critical information more accessible at a higher level.
Iteration #1
Replaced shadows in the badges with strokes to distinguish them from other clickables.
Iteration #2
Changed the 'Find' section label into 'Explore' and the icon into squares to indicate categories.
Final Mockups
I've refined the screens into those Hi-Fi mockups keeping in mind user needs and the app's brand identity.
Home
Explore
Search results
Plant profile
User profile
Reminder
Reminder setting
Camera
Accessibility considerations
I tried to apply some of the accessibility guidelines I've learned so far.
01
Font size
Made the font size at least 16px, the recommended minimum font size for digital platforms; this would help prevent readability issues.
02
Descoverability
Used contrast to help users easily find information on the app. I've used blue on CTAs to make them easy to notice and decrease errors.
03
Hierarchy
Arranged visual information in a way that implies importance, like making the headlines larger than the text below it to make it more dominant.
Takeaways
Key reflections and learnings at the end of the project
Learnings
This is what I've learned throughout the whole process of this project, and I intend to apply it in future ones:
● Collaboration is magical: Working as part of a diverse team in the early stages of the project (Research & Ideation) was a great experience, as it helped us form a holistic understanding of the problem and generate many brilliant ideas.
● Never seek perfection: The refinement of the visual aspect of the product is a never-ending process. Hence, the wise thing to do is settle for good enough.
● Most of the iceberg isn't visual: Rushing to the high-fidelity stage might be tempting, but investing more in research, strategy, and IA would significantly impact the product's success.
Next Steps
Due to time constraints, there are some ideas I couldn't concretize, and I'd like to do so if I have the opportunity in the future. These are some of them:
01
Marketing Website
Design a responsive website to help users know about the app and work as a marketing platform.
02
Quiz Feature
Design the quiz feature where users answer questions and get a shortlist of suggested plants.
03
Labels
Add labels to enable visually impaired people to use the app through screen reader technology.
