Project Type:
Mobile App, Plant Care
My Role:
UI Designer
Project Timeline:
Mar - Jun 2023
We live in a time when renting is more common than owning a home.
With homeownership getting tougher, many people turn to plant parenting as an alternative to pets or starting a family. Succulents are a top choice—they're low-maintenance, instantly brighten up any space, and make your home feel more like yours.
PLANTA was born out of a 3-month project at UCSC's User Experience Research Group. I led a team of 5 students to create a mobile app that makes caring for succulents easy and fun for everyone!
(MY ROLE)
My team had a mix of backgrounds— strong researchers and coders, but with little to no design experience. Most had never touched Figma or knew much about design principles. As the team lead, I worked on upskilling the team and keeping up consistent project progress.
My main focus? Designing the interface and helping everyone bring our ideas to life in Figma.
(VISION & INNOVATION)
Our goal was to make plant care easy and boost mental well-being. We wanted to create a simple, user-friendly app that helps anyone—from beginners to pros—take care of their plants and feel good doing it.
(CHALLENGES)
Getting everyone on the same page wasn’t easy, but I made sure we had weekly check-ins and upskilled my team with personalized tutorials, bringing everyone up to speed on basic Figma usage. This allowed us to work faster, communicate ideas more easily, and collaborate effectively. I used Scrum principles to manage sprints and tasks on Google Sheets, which helped us deliver our final product ahead of schedule.
(PROBLEMS)
Our initial interviews revealed that plant owners with varying experiences ALL struggled to balance plant care on top of their busy lives. Our app is designed to help by providing reminders and tips through a tool they are using every day already (their phone!). Ensuring they never feel like they lack a "green thumb."
(USER-CENTRIC DESIGN)
Discovering what users truly want is as simple as asking them! We ran several usability tests with plant lovers over two weeks, evolving our wireframes into high-fidelity designs that make plant care easy and enjoyable.
(USER NEEDS)
So, I added features like reminders, progress tracking, and a direct link to shop for recommended tools right from the plant journal page. We listened closely to feedback and made sure our app was something they'd love to use.
(SOLUTION & CONCLUSION)
Leading PLANTA was an amazing experience that sharpened my leadership and design skills. Moving forward, I want to keep pushing for better designs and more efficient teamwork. Check out our High Fidelity Prototype to see how we made raising a succulent fun, simple, and user-friendly!
