How might we improve the home garden experience?
Gard!en
Product Design + UX + Machine Learning
During graduate school research on smart homes, I found that a full schedule and little time can take the joy out of gardening.
Frame the Scope
Objective > Make home gardening more delightful.
Outcome > A fun and highly interactive home garden experience.
My Roles
Project Leader
Product Designer
Design Research
UX/UI Designer
Prototype & Testing
Understand the needs
Discovery Process:
Competitive landscape analysis
User research & Interviews
Sprint
Secondary research methods
Prototype testing
User need themes:
Low-maintenance
Plug and Play
Social component
Interactive & Fun
Automated
Reframe the problem
How might we re-invent the gardening experience to be more engaging with less work?
Improve the Experience
I developed a system that employs a carrot-shaped enchanted object that when inserted in any home garden can monitor the garden for plant health and predator activity. The Care-it Stik™, while planted in the garden, uses the home's wifi to connect with the Gard!en app. The garden can then communicates its needs directly to the user through any mobile device.
Make it easy to use - Guard!en™ offers a hassle-free set-up, essential for any connected home product. The enchanted object technology also allows the user to collect data and track the garden’s progress.
Make it engaging and personable - With an interactive character-driven user interface, the experience is personal, fun, useful, and interactive. The garden will send messages or make voice calls to the user when it needs water, food, or protection.
Build a community - The experience also includes a social media site to build a community of gardeners.
...
Research
Exploring Opportunities
In looking for an opportunity to improve day-to-day experiences in the home, we conducted a weekend SPRINT with peers and fellow grad students. We also, conducted an initial interview and research phase to gather insights.
Find Meaning in the Data
We then organized collected insights and feedback from the primary and secondary research. We then used card sorting to identify patterns and need themes.
How Might We...
From the Need Themes, we explored the design challenges as HMW statements. From there, I elected to explore improving the home garden experience.
Storyboarding
To user-test the concept, I a created storyboard prototype.
App Experience Mapping
After initial testing, I developed an experience map to guide a clickable prototype for user testing.
