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A mobile plant search engine inspired by native plant gardening
Role
UX Designer
Timeline
4 months
I was first introduced to native gardening when I had the opportunity to work at a local farm in New York. During my time at the farm, I realized my connection to nature had faded over the years as I spent more and more hours attached to screens. This awareness sparked my desire to learn more about plants, an interest which would eventually lead to the birth of this search engine.
We are currently experiencing a climate crisis, and one element of the climate crisis is biodiversity loss. Due to human activity such as land development and pollution, ecosystems have been severely impacted and are rapidly declining. Learning about native plants is beneficial because it serves as a tool to aid us in cultivating an environment other native species can survive within.
After extensive research, I iterated based on user feedback to develop an application which seamlessly integrates native plants into a user's learning experience.
In order to expand my understanding of the challenges people face in learning about native plants, I asked for people to participate in a survey. The survey results helped contextualize the experience and interest people had in native plants.
From the survey participants, I selected and interviewed 5 individuals who had varying levels of exposure to native plants. These interviews became foundational knowledge, as they helped me think through what features should be prioritized within the app.
Geared around attracting native birds to your yard, Audubon provides a great database for users to familiarize with the wildlife each plants will bring into your life.
This search engine is malleable and offers location and various other filters, as well as the option to save items. While this website serves as an extensive database, the information offered for each plant is limited.
While conceptually brilliant, the app leads for more to be desired. An assortment of invasive and native plants are available on the app, but its organization and informational content is lacking.
Throughout the user interviews, there was a consistent thread of uncertainity displayed by participants. They doubted their abilities to learn and recognize plant species and were also overwhelmed by the number of resources available online.
One of the primary flaws present in competitor applications is the need for users to learn how to navigate their platforms.
Instead of creating an application solely focused on native plants, I decided that it would serve users best if native plants were naturally incorporated into their plant browsing experience. User intentions in learning about plants vary widely, so while I envision people utilizing my app to grow native gardens, this may not be the reality.
I had five people test a rough black and white prototype I created in Figma. I chose to create a low fidelity draft to ensure that errors weren’t due to lack of comprehension of my handwriting.
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Generally, test participants were pleased by the application and excited at its flexibility. There were still improvements to be made, but this round of testing reassured me that the application was going in the right direction.
My first round of usability tests revealed issues in both my prototype and the way I was testing my users. Due to the confusion caused by my test script, I'm not sure if this initial round of testing actually demonstrated to me all of the problems users were having with my app. However, I discovered errors that needed to be addressed.
Users also requested for minor aesthetic adjustments, such as improvements to the plant identification screen. Revisions such as these were reminders for me to make a to do list while drafting so as to not forget the little adjustments to be made before presenting.
