MY ROLE : UX designer leading plant pro’s app design.
PROJECT DURATION : 6 weeks; November 2023-January 2024
RESPONSIBILITIES :
Conducting interviews, paper and digital wireframing, low and high-fidelity prototyping, conducting usability studies, accounting for accessibility, iterating on designs and responsive design
Product highlights
The problem
Houseplants are having their moment now. Much of it is thanks to millennials, plantfluencers, plant-based movement, and work from home culture.The main reason why people own a house plant today is to improve the aesthetics of their space. Most of these people are non expert gardeners and find it challenging to keep the plants healthy and alive. Plant pro aims to solve that issue.
Project Vision
Plant pro is an app that helps users accurately diagnose issues with house plants and get a solution to it. The typical user can be anyone between 18-75 years old, who owns house plants and is comfortable using smart phone. Most users are early career professionals with busy work life. Plant pro’s goal is to make diagnosis accurate, fast, and easy for all types of users.
Make diagnosis process quick, accurate and intriguing.
Save users from information overload
Build trust in the app.
Create a minimalistic UI with cohesive interface for experienced as well as novice smart phone users.
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Challenges
Understanding the user
To understand user frustration, needs, and requirements I followed User centered design process-
UNDERSTAND
SPECIFY
DESIGN
EVALUATE
UNDERSTAND
SPECIFY
DESIGN
EVALUATE
UNDERSTAND
SPECIFY
DESIGN
EVALUATE
UNDERSTAND
SPECIFY
DESIGN
EVALUATE
My goal was to gain insights to understand how users take care of their house plants and what challenges they face. I found qualitative research methods to be the most useful consisting of literature review, competitive analysis, user interviews, empathy map, persona construction and usability testing. I started out by asking myself some initial key questions.
What is the product and who
is it for?
What users need most?
What process is currently followed
to diagnose the issue?
What are the challenges faced
by primary user?
Who do i see as my biggest
competitor?
What are competitors doing
good and where is the gap?
What literature should I review
to gain more insights?
User Research pain points
1
LACK OF INFORMATION
Users lack information about each plants unique growth and care requirements. Hence, find it difficult to diagnose the issue.
2
LANGUAGE BARRIER
Most of the content online is in English, non native English speakers find it difficult to understand.
3
SUBSCRIPTION BASED
MODEL
All the diagnosis app available in market give access to their services when users pay for the subscription. Users are not willing to put their money into something that they have not tried and tested.
4
TRUST ISSUES
There is a lot of content and suggestions online. It makes user overwhelmed and don't know who to trust.
5
LACK OF TIME
Most of the users have a full time job to do. They find it difficult to look after plants in their busy schedule.
Meet the Users
User Journey Map
Competitive Analysis
I found out that all the competitor apps use visual search tool that uses Machine Learning to identify the plant and disease. Which was good and made the process easy. However there were other key issues. Such as all require in-app purchase to access diagnosis function, too much textual information that is heavy to digest and makes user feel overwhelmed. All this information about disease symptom and treatment is generalised and not particular to the plant being diagnosed. Also either the app is only available in English or language change option is difficult to locate. This analysis helped me identify what is missing in all these apps and where i can grow.
STARTING THE DESIGN
I constructed a user flow of what a basic start to finish journey looks like while diagnosing the disease.
The structure of IA is a combination of Hierarchical and Sequential model. The parent categories such as diagnose, consult expert, my plants, plants that need attention on home page narrows into more detailed info. The step by step process of guiding user through plant details questionnaire follows sequential model.
Wireframes
Focusing on the core features identified during user research, I sketched the wireframes using pen and paper. I drafted iterations of each screen on paper. After thinking through the preliminary flow, i reviewed what was necessary, unnecessary, and what areas needed improvement. Since Plant pro app works on give and take of information, I used Gestalt principle of Similarity, Proximity and Common region to organise content so that it is visually pleasing and easier to understand. I poured a lot of time into this step to make sure the wireframes best represented user flow and met user needs without making them feel overwhelmed.
USABILITY STUDY
Usability study parameters
Study type - Moderated
Location - Singapore, India - remote (each participant will complete the study in their own home)
Participants - 5
Length - 5 to 10 minutes
Now that I have the key insights from the usability study, let's look at the findings and define the actual problems that a designer can solve.
P0
Diagnose ?
Users were confused, where to click on home page to perform the core task of Diagnosis. Diagnose call to action button should stand out from rest.
P1
Navigation
Users want to go back to “Common issues” screen from diagnosis results to check treatment to various diseases from the list. A back button should be added to access the previous screen.
P2
Confusing Terminology
Users found titles of home page cards confusing. Titles should be renamed to make its function easily understandable.
Diagnosis
Treatment
Treatment
Diagnosis
?
P0
Confusing Diagnosis - Treatment
Since diagnosis and treatment are under two different tabs, users were confused - Which treatment is for which diagnosis. There should be a clear link between the two.
P2
Redundant Search bar
Users were confused why there is a search bar along with camera to identify the plant. Search bar should be removed as plant identification can be more easily done by clicking picture.
Based on the insights from the usability studies, I applied the design changes, including a clear navigation system.
Usability study - Round 2
P0
No Dropdowns
Users tend to miss drop down menu for treatment information. Treatment should be easily visible and not missed.
P1
Function of
Users are confused about the function of . Action of adding/removing diagnosis from My Plants should be clear.
HIGH FIDELITY PROTOTYPE
CHALLENGE 1
Seamless Diagnosis experience
A key factor to gain userbase for Plant pro is to make sure that the core function of the app, which is diagnosing the disease and suggesting treatment is effortless and accurate. Use of graphical and linear data collection process has helped in achieving that.
CHALLENGE 2
Save users from Information Overload
Use of progressive disclosure makes information easy to process and understand. Use of video and image content over text helps in retaining more information. Instead of long paragraphs, information is summarized and broken down in bullet points.
CHALLENGE 3
Build trust in app
One major factor to maintain userbase is to gain their trust in the content and working of Plant pro. Plant pro earns users trust through quick, accurate diagnosis and effective treatment plans, validated by users voting the diagnosis and treatment as helpful.
CHALLENGE 4
A Familiar experience
While Plant pro’s primary audience is young professionals, those novice with smart phone need to be able to use the app as well. Jakob’s law states that users spend most of their time on other apps. This means that users prefer your app to work the same way as all the other apps they already know. With recognizable iconography, intuitive gestures, neutral color scheme with green accent color to add emphasis, i feel that Plant pro has achieved that.
ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS
When choosing a color palette, I made sure my primary colors met WCAG AA Compliance before building out the UI for each screen.
Contrast
I am using SF Pro Display. It performs well at a variety of sizes, ensuring that text remains clear providing a consistent look throughout the app.
Typeface
T
I implemented a text hierarchy throughout the app. This helps users to distinguish the different sections and information on screen.
Hierarchy
TT
TAKE AWAYS
As a plant lover, Plant pro is an idea near and dear to my heart. I wanted to communicate my UX design skills to solve a real life problem. While designing this app, I learned that the first ideas for the app are only the beginning of the process. Usability studies influenced each iteration of the app’s design.
Some of the key things I have learned include:
Understanding user needs
Importance of simplicity
Accessibility considerations
Understanding and implementing user feedback
Manage information to not overwhelm the user
NEXT STEPS
Obtain UX/UI feedback from designers with more experience in the field to improve the overall design and functionality.
1
When I have documented all feedback that was provided, I will make the necessary design updates in order to improve the app’s overall experience and conduct further Usability study
2
Detail out current app features such as My plant care team, paid consultation and Language change option.
3
Thank you for reading the case study.
© 2024 Prachi Thakare. All rights reserved.