D'ARCY DRAKE
UX Case Study
How might we help plant owners easily identify plant health problems?
PlantHouse simplifies the process of diagnosing your houseplant, and offers clear instructions for treatment to get your houseplant looking top notch.
Plant-owners need a way to easily identify plant problems and find solutions because turning from friends to social media to google to blogs and forums for answers is time-consuming and confusing.
User Interviews
Tell me about how you first got started taking care of plants!
Can you tell me about your favourite plant you’ve ever had?
Tell me about the plant you’re most proud of growing.
What are some of the common problems you’ve had?
Do you have any horror stories of particularly difficult or confusing plants?
What did you do to solve this?
Do you have specific sources you use to find information?
What is your typical plant-care routine/schedule?
How does taking care of plants make you feel?
What do you like about taking care of plants?
What is your favourite and least favourite part of owning plants?
Any other thoughts or stories about plants you’d like to share?
Key Findings
There is no common resource for information aside from "just googling it" and scrolling.
When faced with a tough problem, users usually ask for help on social media or by calling their mom or a friend.
Other Interesting Findings
Most interviewees were primarily motivated to take care of plants by interior decorating.
Some interviewees expressed serious guilt about killing plants, and saw plants as helpless creatures they've adopted.
Everyone I interviewed expressed some connection between houseplant care and personal relationships (plants as gifts, loving to witness the excitement about plants in kids).
Everyone I spoke to at all about the project had some experience with killing a plant.
User Persona
Cassie Cooper
Age: 30 years old
Education: Bachelor of Science
Employment: Purchasing Manager
A Day In The Life
She is conscientious in her work and in taking care of her home. She cares a lot about making her home feel welcoming, and follows some interior design instagram pages for inspiration. She is creative and and loves having her many friends over for dinner or just to hang out.
Goals
• Grow instagrammable (healthy and therefore beautiful) plants.
• Keep plants so happy that they propagate baby plants she can give as gifts to her friends.
Needs
• A simple way to identify plants, with instructions on how to take care of them.
• Information on what causes problems with her plants' health.
• An easy way to identify what problem she's having, and how to solve it.
Frustrations
• Lacks resources to identify a plant, how to take care of it, or find out what she's doing wrong.
• Scrolling through pages of google, blogs and forums trying to identify a problem with a plant.
• The tree she’s had for years that won’t stop turning brown despite all her efforts.
Competitive Analysis
Feature Comparison Chart
Visual Interface Design
Tools & Methods
Adobe XD
Adobe Photoshop
User-Centered Research
• Research Plan: Goals & Hypothesis
• Discussion Guide
• User Interviews
• Affinity Mapping (Miro)
• Card Sorting (OptimalWorkshop/OptimalSort)
Persona Development
Competitive Analysis & Feature Inventory Comparison
Feature Prioritization (Now, Next, Later & 2x2 Matrix)
Site Map
Information Architecture
Userflow
Sketching & Paper Prototyping
Usability Testing
Wireframing
Rapid Prototyping
Visual Design
Graphic Design
Branding