Green Thumb Envy?

allison.spiegel
Sep 4, 2018 · 3 min read

Critical Making | Assignment 1: Final Project Concept

IDEA CONCEPT -

I love to describe myself as a crazy plant lady. I currently have 18 houseplants inside of my very tiny apartment, 15 beautiful potted plants outside, and two raised garden beds. Why do I mention this? Well, I’ve had a few people recently ask how I keep track of all these little guys. The truth is, I’ve always had a green thumb. But, what if you love plants and can’t keep them alive? I want to make a smart device that can help with that.

There are many apps out there for plant lovers. Some examples include -

PlantSnap, Garden Answers Plant Id, iplant — Plant Identification, SmartPlant, Gardening Reference Guide, Sun Seeker, Koubachi, MyGarden, PlantNet, Picture This — Plant Identification, FlowerChecker, Leafsnap, iPflanzen, and Gardenate.

PlantSnap, Garden Answers Plant Id, iplant: Plant Identification, PlantNet, PictureThis: Plant Identification, FlowerChecker, Leafsnap, and iPflanzen help identify a certain kind of plant by taking a photograph of it or describing its features such as its leaf shape or the plant’s berries (if present). SmartPlant helps with plant care and identifies plants and possible pests. Gardening Reference Guide helps with care and cultivation instructions once you know the name of your plant. Sun Seeker uses your location to track the sun’s movement. This helps determine how much sun your plant is actually getting. Koubachi helps with watering schedules. Enter in your plant’s name, sunlight exposure, and location and Koubachi will send you reminders on when your plant needs watering. MyGarden is like an Instagram for gardeners. It helps you keep track of what you’re growing and you can show off photographs of your babies to other gardeners. Gardenate informs you on the most commonly grown veggies in your area. It also has a garden calendar of local planting times.

The objectives for my app (and device) are a little more complex. I want to create a smart plant tool that is an “all-in-one” device. Possible functions include -

  • plant identification via photograph or description
  • plant first aid — helps identify things like pests, root rot, mildew, ect.
  • sunlight tracking/sensor
  • water/moisture tracking
  • thermometer
  • social media/sharing capabilities
  • schedule/to-do list function to set reminders
  • notifications to let you know when your plant needs something

VISUAL CONCEPT -

What’s one small thing that makes a huge impact on plants: bees. Bees help with pollination, transferring pollen from one plant to another, which helps fertilization and seed production. I think a bee would be the perfect way to visualize my smart plant tool. Here are some examples of other companies that use bees in there branding -

IBM and Burt’s Bees are some of the top “bee branding” competitors

I’m also throwing around the idea of Green Bee for the name. It’s a play-on-words relating back to “green thumb”, “green” referring to “be green/go green” pertaining to the environment, and it rhymes which is always a nice touch.

Other companies which have similar names/identities include -

I’ve attached some sketches of rough ideas for the actual device. I’m leaning towards a geometric direction; a style I haven’t really played with in my past work.

More ideas to come on the app side of things!

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