Brief
This week we were asked to get into groups and start designing an app for the PlantCo Smart Pot. It has a reservoir and water pump built into the pot and connects to the app via Bluetooth. The app provides information on the plant’s wellbeing, watering needs, gardening tips, etc.
Our task is to design an app that keeps track of:
- Plant guide/identification
- Plant recommendations
- Moisture, light, and nutrient levels
- Temperature
- Plant location
Getting started
We started by creating a user flow to get an idea of how the typical user would navigate through the app. This showed us how many screens we needed, how the user would get to them, and what we wanted to include. This user flow shows how the user navigates through the initial sign-up.
This is a picture I took of our user flow on the day. It isn’t very clear, so I made a digital version:
I found doing this helpful as it gave us a visual of how a user may navigate through the app upon first opening it. I think this prevents navigation issues down the road as it is all laid out in front of you. I liked working with post-it notes at this point as they were easy to move around and change things. I want to use this method again in the future.
Something we thought would be useful when connecting your pot was to have a short series of questions about the plant. This included the distance from the window, how much sunlight it would receive, and the temperature of the room. This way, the app could rate how good the plant’s environment is and the user can make changes if need be. This sets the user off to a good start and it will give them satisfaction knowing that their plant is set up in the best way possible.
My sketches
We all started by taking a page and sketching out 6 different screens of the app. This way, we would have 6 different ideas to pick and choose from. Below, you can see the sketches I did:
I chose to do the sign-up, connect, picture, home, plant information, and account screens. For the screen where you take a picture of your plant, I decided to have it open a camera automatically as it makes it quick and easy. I also included a search button so the user could enter the name of their plant if they already know this information.
I decided to keep the home screen clean, with a single column showing the user their registered plants. We decided that when the user first uses the app, they will get a short tutorial of how it works. I added a “skip tutorial” button at the bottom as some users may want to skip this and learn as they go.
For the plant information screen, I split it into 3 sections. The plant condition, alerts, and about. The user can switch between them depending on what task they are doing. Lastly, the account screen has the option to add a profile picture to make it more personal. This will be useful when using the community section which I will discuss later. They then have the option to easily switch notifications on and off.
Final group sketches
After we completed our individual sketches, we came back together as a group. We each pitched our ideas and talked through them with the group. I enjoyed this as it was interesting seeing other people’s approaches to problem-solving. We then put our ideas together and sketched out 6 final screens.
The first screen is a sign-up screen. We kept this as simple as possible with a logo and then the information required. Allowing the user to make an account will allow them to log into the app on multiple devices which is why we thought it was important to include.
The next screen is the homepage where the user can view their plants. We decided to go for 2 columns as you can view more plants at one time this way. Below the images of the plants will be a short overview of their wellbeing, and if there are any alerts. There is then the option to add a new plant. We kept this and the other navigation at the bottom of the screen so it’s easy to access.
The top right sketch is the Bluetooth pairing screen. This will have a moving image of a plant. I think this will give the user reassurance that it is working and trying to connect to the pot. It also has 3 steps on how to connect it to avoid confusion.
The screens where you take a picture of the plant and where the plant information is found are quite like the ideas I had for it. Lastly, is the community screen. There are 2 main areas to this, plant stories and advice. I think having a community section in any app is beneficial as it allows users to connect with others with the same hobbies and interests. It will be useful for them to gain advice if they are having any issues and it may even motivate them to take care of their plants even more so they can share their progress.
Final thoughts
I enjoyed working as a team because you can bounce ideas off each other and get creative. I think it also provides a stronger outcome as everyone brings different strengths and ideas to the table. I am happy with how our final sketches turned out and I think it would be a great app if we continued working on it.