Equilibrium
A UX/UI Case Study aiming to bridge the gap between clients and landscape designers.
The Problem
In the United States, lawns have been a symbol of status since the 18th century, leading many to believe that landscape design is all about maintaining a pristine lawn, rather than enhancing the natural landscape through gardening. According to a 2020 CNN report by Matthew Ponsford, residential lawns occupy an area of 49,000 square miles of land (roughly equivalent to the size of Greece), and require more irrigation than any agricultural crop grown in the country. Lawns also necessitate regular mowing, with approximately forty million lawnmowers consuming 200 million gallons of gasoline each year. In contrast, natural landscapes require little maintenance, if any at all. By working in harmony with the natural landscape, plants can help clean the air and soil, lower cooling costs through strategic placement of trees and shrubs, prevent soil erosion, reduce noise pollution, and provide habitat for beneficial insects and birds.
A significant issue in the landscape design industry is the lack of horticultural knowledge among homeowners. This knowledge gap can be frustrating for both homeowners and landscape designers. Homeowners may struggle to maintain their landscape due to their lack of understanding of the necessary maintenance and care required. Conversely, landscape designers often face difficulty explaining their design decisions to clients who lack horticultural knowledge. This communication barrier can lead to misunderstandings and frustration between clients and designers, resulting in ineffective and unsatisfactory designs.
The Solution
My app offers a solution by providing users with a soil meter that informs them of the type of soil they have, enabling them to gain a better understanding of the plants that can grow in their specific environment. Once subscribed, users can take a survey that asks for information on their budget, preferred style, and other pertinent details. Based on the survey responses and their location, the app will provide them with a list of local landscape designers to choose from. Users can then browse the designers’ portfolios and select the one that best suits their needs.
The app also empowers designers to review potential clients’ profiles and decide whether or not to accept their requests. This ensures a good match between the client and designer, reducing the risk of miscommunication and dissatisfaction. Ultimately, this app allows for a more seamless and informed collaboration between landscape designers and their clients, resulting in a more successful and sustainable landscape design.
Initial research
In the initial stages of my research, I gathered quantitative data on the negative impacts of lawn-heavy designs and the benefits of ecosystem gardening. Alongside this, I examined other landscape design apps, such as shrubhub.com, to better understand their processes. However, I noticed that many of these apps were focused heavily on lawns and lacked informative content. This realization inspired me to create a platform that educates clients about their own landscape while also showcasing designers that specialize in naturalistic designs.
My second approach to research involved sending out a questionnaire to a variety of landscape designers to identify the most frequent conflicts they have with clients. Through this, I learned that clients often lack horticultural knowledge, leading to a misunderstanding of the design decisions made by the designers. Another significant problem was the mismatch between clients and designers. Additionally, I found that most clients desire low-maintenance designs, and communication is crucial throughout the design process. Furthermore, clients need to provide a budget before the design process can begin.
Overall, this research helped me identify the key issues that landscape designers and clients encounter during the design process. Armed with this knowledge, I was able to develop a platform that addressed these issues and offered a solution that would benefit both clients and designers.
Personas
To gain a better understanding of the target users of my app, I created two user personas — one for the client and one for the designer. The client persona was designed to represent a typical homeowner who is interested in sustainable landscape design but lacks the knowledge and experience to create and maintain such a design. The client persona highlights their pain points, motivations, and goals. The designer persona was created to represent a landscape designer who specializes in sustainable landscape design and is seeking to expand their client base. The designer persona highlights their skills, experience, and goals.
By creating these user personas, I was able to identify the specific needs and requirements of both the clients and designers who would be using my app. This information allowed me to tailor the features and functionalities of the app to better meet their needs and provide a more effective solution. Additionally, it helped me to keep their goals and pain points in mind throughout the development process, ensuring that the app would provide a satisfactory user experience for both parties.
The Design Process
The design process began with researching potential names for the app, focusing on terms related to the environment. After considering the importance of balance and harmony in successful gardens, the name “Equilibrium” was chosen to represent the idea of a stable system created through the equal action of opposing forces. This concept also reflects the importance of a well-matched client and designer relationship in achieving equilibrium.
To create a unique and innovative brand, inspiration was taken from landscape design blueprints, incorporating sketchy textures and shapes commonly used to represent shrubs and trees. The equilibrium symbol was also incorporated into the logo design.
A color palette of ivory and grayish black was chosen for contrast between screens, with accents of complementary colors orange and greenish blue. Structural fonts were selected to reflect the structural design commonly seen in landscape design blueprints and the logo.
The app uses photography, sketchy icons, and texture to enhance the editorial feel, with bold type overlapping certain images for added visual interest.
Conclusion:
The Equilibrium app serves as a solution to the lack of knowledge and communication barriers between clients and landscape designers. By providing clients with soil analysis, education about ecosystem gardening, and access to a variety of local designers, the app promotes the beauty and benefits of designing landscapes that enhance the natural environment. Equilibrium aims to create a more harmonious and balanced relationship between clients and designers, resulting in successful and sustainable landscape designs.
