Designing an app for gardening enthusiasts — UX Case Study
Problem
People who enjoy growing plants at home often search for information and ideas online, but they struggle to find advice that fits their specific location and environment. They also find it challenging to connect with other people who enjoy gardening.
Solution
Garden Buddy provides personalized advice based on the user’s location and environment, to help them choose the right plants and care for them properly. It also has a community section where people can connect with others who enjoy gardening and share their experiences and advice.
To solve this problem, I followed the design thinking process:
Step 1
Understanding Users
My first step was to understand the users of this app & know what exactly their needs are. After talking to a bunch of people who are into gardening & plants, I found out that the following things were a must-have for this app:
I also did a survey to understand my users more & know what are the difficulties they face in gardening.
Step 2
User Persona
After conducting user research, I moved on to creating a persona of a potential user of the Garden Buddy app. By doing so, I gained a better understanding of the needs and wants of my target audience.
Having a user persona allowed me to personalize the design process and ensure that the app catered to the specific needs of the user.
Step 3
Ideation & Paper Wireframes
After understanding my users, I moved on to the ideation phase. Throughout the ideation and sketching process, I continued referencing my research findings to ensure that my designs aligned with my user’s preferences.
Creating these paper wireframes helped me identify areas for improvement before moving on to the next phase of development & quickly iterating upon them.
Step 4
Information Architecture
After creating paper wireframes, I created the Information Architecture keeping in mind the target audience.
Step 5
User Flow
I also mapped out the user flow of the app depending on the user’s goal. It helped me understand how the user would navigate through the app & make it as efficient & natural as possible.
Step 6
Mid-fidelity Wireframes
Next, I translated my ideas into designs. I started by making mid-fidelity wireframes to build the initial structure of the app.
Step 7
Style Guide
I moved on to crafting the visual elements for GardenBuddy. I emphasized keeping the visuals uncluttered yet charming, to convey the same joyous vibe that one associates with gardening.
Logo
Colors & Typography
I wanted to use different colors from the usual green seen in similar apps. Therefore, I chose a bright and lively orange shade as the primary color that looks fresh. As for the secondary color, I went with a light green color that contrasts well with the primary one.
To ensure ease of reading and a pleasing appearance, I chose Product Sans font.
Components & Elements
I kept the visuals clean & pleasing to the eyes.
Step 8
High-fidelity Wireframes
Step 9
Usability Testing
After designing the screens, I did Usability testing with the real users of this app. I asked the same questions to all the participants & we got a total of 12 responses.
I organized all the observations from the Usability Testing into separate groups.
Now, it was time to make the changes based on user feedback…
Iterations
Most feedback from users was on the Community screen & the Location screen, so I started iterating these screens first.
Community Screen
Users were confused with the Community screen as to who will post there & can they DM people. To solve this confusion, I decided to divide it into two slides — community & chats. This way users can easily chat with other gardeners & exchange ideas with the whole gardeners community.
Location Screen
I added a clear update location text to change the location. Also, gave the UI elements some more spacing to not overwhelm the user.
Learnings
I learned the importance of keeping user feedback in mind & including it at every step of the process. This project allowed me to learn user research deeply & focussing on understanding the problem of the users first & then ideating solutions.
Next Steps
A feature that will allow users to scan a plant & get the plant care information will significantly increase customer satisfaction, hence helping the business grow.
