insight 1
Keeping up with care seems difficult
The participants' perception is that they are unable to maintain the care required as it takes a significant amount of time.
UI/UX DEsign
Sow In – Indoor gardening assistant
Crafting an experience that is intuitive, simple, and engaging to help empower novice gardeners to grow indoors
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Role
For this conceptual project, I was the sole UX and UI Designer. I was responsible for directing the end-to-end process: user interviews, market analysis, organizing insights, idea exploration, prototyping, user testing, and visual design.
Timeline
July 2022 (revised October 2022)
overview
Sow In is a mobile app that offers personalized gardening assistance to people who cannot partake in outdoor gardening. The app simplifies the planning and research process, offering all the necessary tools for novice gardeners to grow produce successfully. Users can select plants suitable to their region, learn how to plant their plants, keep track of daily tasks, and identify issues that may arise during their journey.
the challenge
In 2022 prices of groceries have increased by 14.5% making produce even more inaccessible. With inflation on my mind, I began to think about an alternative to buying produce - gardening! However, with 55% of the population residing in urban areas, I wondered what unique challenges this group encounters and how their gardening experience could be enhanced. Therefore, I aim to develop a solution that enables people to effortlessly cultivate plants indoors.
evidence for a need + opportunity
The pandemic-induced unemployment and supply chain disruptions resulted in various sustainable food and community gardening projects in my city (Edmonton, AB) supported by local non-profits in collaboration with the government. Presently, all the gardening initiatives focus on outdoor gardening. However, with key partnerships with non-profits or government bodies, we have an opportunity to develop a solution for a user group that is currently underserved.
Solution
The Users
The target users of this product are individuals who want to garden indoors, particularly those who are new to the practice and may need guidance on how to begin.
Interviews
Research processes are highly dependent on the project, and for this one, I prioritized interviews. I conducted five interviews with people who live in apartments and want to garden.
Goals
- Understand current pain points users face when trying to begin gardening indoors.
- Are there any identifiable patterns within different users mental models?
Rationale
I chose to conduct interviews to gain insights into the emotions underlying the pain points of users. Since I could collect qualitative data and have the chance to ask follow-up questions I would be able to delve deeper into their frustrations and gain a more comprehensive understanding of their perspective.
insight 2
Beliefs of an un-ideal environment
Participants have had plants in the past that died. They believe this was because they didn't have the right environment (climate, light level, etc. )
insight 3
Too much preliminary research
Participants say that the main obstacle to gardening is the research involved. Finding out what crops can grow indoors and their requirements for light and water is time-consuming and requires significant effort.
insight 4
Unreliable resources
Participants reported feeling confused about which sources to trust due to conflicting instructions they found during past research.
Competitive analysis
Since this was a new product I was making (or maybe not, maybe the best solution was no solution) I wanted to understand more about the market.
Goals
- Understand the advantages and limitations of current methods and products that solve a similar problem.
- Identify opportunities for improvement.
Rationale
I found that the most frequent method for beginning gardening involved utilizing a mixture of Google searches, blogs, and videos to gather information. I wanted to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of this method, and other available products/services in the market.
Insights
- None of the products or services are a comprehensive guide for a novice user to garden, they mostly focus on daily care.
- The majority of products contain technical language, making it just as challenging to navigate as articles and blogs.
- Since the products main focus is not indoor gardening it is difficult to find relevant advice for our target users .
Define
Summarizing my insights from the user interviews and market research I redefined the original problem into the following goals for my solution.
Goal 1
Simple, familiar and quick
Most of the information about gardening is over complicated and lives on dated blogs. Simplicity in onboarding, visuals, and language is of the utmost importance.
goal 2
Help users identify suitable plants
Determining which plants will be most successful in their environment is difficult. They have to consider light levels, temperature, region, time commitment, and space. Often this information is not as simple as a google search to find.
goal 3
Guide users on the set-up
Growing crops is unlike many other house plants because the setup is more intensive. Most gardens begin from seed, which is likely an unfamiliar task for our target users.
goal 4
Aid users with daily care
Users need support that will integrate easily into their daily lives. This support should address daily tasks.
Brainstorming + scope
I brainstormed several solutions based on each of the above goals with a focus on creating a comprehensive solution. Due to limited budget as the product is supported by a local non-profit, we require a simple and quick-to-build minimum viable product (MVP). To achieve this, I assessed each idea and prioritized the features based on their ease of implementation and usefulness to the user leading to the following scope:
- Questionnaire to identify suitable plants
- Plant care page (Including care instructions, list of items needed, common issues, etc.)
- Planting instructions
- Schedule of daily tasks
wireframes
With the scope defined I went on to sketching:
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A major challenge that surfaced during the project was the vast amount of information required for users to grow their plants. After designing a few screens, it became apparent that they were too dense and frankly, boring to read. To address this, I took inspiration from Airbnb's approach in effectively presenting extensive information without overwhelming the user. I learned that presenting information in dynamic and creative ways through the use of cards, iconography and horizontal carousels can help retain user attention. Additionally, strategically placing the most important information at the top is crucial, as users may lose interest as they scroll.
Recognizing the importance of the home screen as the primary destination for users, I aimed to create a simplistic and intuitive interface. At first, I used bottom navigation however, the resulting designs appeared incomplete, prompting me to integrate the navigation bar into the homepage for a more seamless and cohesive design. Subsequently, I performed usability testing on the updated design.
USability test
I conducted a moderated usability study with 5 users to test the prototype.
Goals
- Identify and prioritize any usability issues in the first time user flow (questionnaire, plant selection, seed planting flow)
- Determine if there were any missing elements in the user experience that users may have expected.
Rationale
A moderated usability test allows us to evaluate the app for usability issues and ask follow up questions, and since we are testing with a lo-fi prototype we can ensure issues resulting from the lo-fi are addressed so as to not skew our data.
insight 1
No documented usability issues
All participants were able to onboard, complete the questionnaire, select a starting plant, and begin the planting flow without any issues. They were also able to complete tasks and navigate to the plant page easily.
insight 2
Users worried about task/plant mismatch.
Users expressed concern over tasks not matching what their plants needs, or what happens when their plant deviates from the plan.
insight 3
Users find upcoming tasks overwhelming
Users indicated that seeing upcoming tasks is overwhelming. They only want to see them sometimes, when they might need them.
Improvement 1: Giving users more autonomy over their plants
I decided to address insight 2 two fold by introducing another questionnaire that users can use to help diagnose their plants with common issues and by giving users more autonomy over the scheduled tasks. Using a kebab menu cues to users that they can interact more deeply with each of the tasks and gives them the choice to push back tasks with their own discretion.
Improvement 2: reducing visual clutter
Based on insight 3 I decided to remove the upcoming tasks feature for the MVP. I don't think it's essential for the app to launch. It would also need more research to present the tasks in an optimal way which doesn't align with our business constraints.
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ITerating
I went on to finish the hi-fi mockups but after receiving feedback, I realized they had fundamental issues due to insufficient iteration and visual design work. I took this as an opportunity to improve my UI design skills. With the help of a senior design mentor, I updated each screen. I focussed on maintaining a high level of consistency and readability to create a frictionless experience across the app. I referred to Google's material design to ensure the foundation of my design was accessible.
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After numerous attempts and feedback sessions, I felt confident in the quality of my design. To achieve our high-level goals, we needed to keep the design simple. So, I updated the visuals to look cohesive and made intentional choices for the user interface (UI) to improve simplicity. I learned from previous mistakes of overusing color, inconsistent spacing, and unclear hierarchy that could have discouraged users from reaching their goals.
Final designs
Onboarding questionnaire
A significant feature of the app is the questionnaire designed to help users identify plants suitable for their environment and lifestyle in a time-efficient manner. By answering just four questions related to their region, time availability, space, and sunlight exposure, users receive a personalized list of recommended plants. This questionnaire significantly streamlines the research phase, making the entire process more efficient. This feature addresses goal 2, to help users identify suitable plants.
Daily Care
The main screen of the app features a daily task list that aids users in the later stages of their gardening journey. The tasks are organized by plant type, making it easier for users to scan through the list, even if they have numerous plants. In the event that things do not go as planned, the app provides a troubleshooting quiz that is tailored to each specific plant to help users diagnose any issues. These features address goal 4, to aid users with daily care.
Planting instructions
Sow In stands apart from its competitors through its unique planting instructions feature. Our app guides users through the entire plant setup process, starting from the seed stage, using clear language and simplified illustrations. The flow of planting instructions is user-driven, allowing novice gardeners to progress at their own pace and feel less overwhelmed. This feature addresses goal 3, to guide users on the set-up
measuring success
To get some idea about the success of this project I gathered some qualitative metrics.
- Participant quote: "I like it, it would be really helpful to get my plants started, something I procrastinate a lot" - Participant A
Future steps
I can't actually build out the app but here are some things to think about for the future of the app and it's success:
User experience success
User retention rate
What is the user retention rate after onboarding? How frequently do users complete tasks until the harvest stage? Do they continue to maintain tasks after the initial harvest?
User experience success
User satisfaction
Is the product enjoyable to use? Does the user have to leave the app to seek additional information? Are the schedules comprehensive and accurate?
Edge cases
Addressing the user that falls off
What if the user misses a bunch of tasks? How do we bring them back up to speed? How do we account for how many tasks they missed and what that means the success of their plant?
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