GrowIt!
​The Challenge
How can we increase stickiness through user engagement?
Design Direction
Solution should foster easy, meaningful, informative, and fun connections between people about plants on a local and global scale.
Outcomes
Gardeners young and old, experienced and novice, have meaningful and intuitive ways to interact in the app
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My role
Lead on research and usability
Project Brief
GrowIt! is an existing app that was already live for Apple & Android devices when we met the client. It was fully functional and visually appealing, but was failing in its intention to build community. Users weren't staying with it. For market reasons the app had been rushed to build without user research. Thus we were tasked to reach out to users and understand their needs then use that information to improve the app and/or create new features to increase stickiness.
Our team of three UX designers did a deep-dive analysis of the current product. We pored over Google Analytics data, conducted usability tests of the existing app, surveyed around 200 people of all experience levels, and prototyped our solution. Further user testing informed our next iterations. Though all three of us touched on all aspects of the project, I focused on research, prototyping, user and usability testing, and presentation-building while my colleagues focused on project management and production.
Design Features
Project Curation
Users didn't think about plants individually, but rather in collections or projects. So we added a Pinterest-like way for them to group their plants.
Rating system
The existing rating system had a novelty that wore off quickly. We added meaning to the ratings for users. "Grow it" places the plant in a project called "GrowIt" in the user's profile. "Leave it" removes the photo from the feed. Additionally we changed the rating icons to be aligned with current social media for increased user familiarity and engagement.
Help Center
The existing ID system was clunky and users also wanted a way to get help with plants that had a problem. We created a Help Center for users to upload plant pictures for ID or diagnosis and made it easy to access for experienced gardeners to weigh in.
Search and Filter
The existing search filter was confusing from a UI standpoint - sometimes static, sometimes not. It was also a lot of information at once. We redesigned search and filter to be in the same place and to function more intuitively. Users can input filters one at a time and the feed repopulates accordingly.
The Process
Contextual Inquiry, Field Interviews, and User Survey
Over 160 people responded to the web survey we sent out to gather insights about what people liked about plants and what their social media use was. We also visited several garden stores and nurseries in urban and suburban areas of Chicago. We talked to staff and customers. We also talked to neighbors and people on the street about plants and gardening. Plants were a popular topic and people participated eagerly.
Insights from the data we collected:
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People care about the environment
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Plants are like pets - people like the nurturing aspect
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People care about growing their own food because it's healthier
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Gardening is intrinsic and families pass on care information and lore
Personas
We created three personas based on the user information we gathered. Our client validated the alignment with actual people and characteristics that he was familiar with - the personas made sense.
Gloria
Master gardener, widower, lives alone in a condo. Knows how to take care of her existing garden but needs inspiration for what to plant next. Loves the social aspect of apps!
Javier and Krista
Married couple with a baby on the way. New homeowners of a detached single-family home. They love the idea of homesteading & feeding their baby-to-be but are daunted by taking care of a whole yard the first time.
Ginny
Single and ready to mingle; lives in an apartment in the city with no outdoor space. Loves decorating and follows lots of home decor & lifestyle blogs for inspiration. She loves the look of plants but has no idea where to start!
Ideation
With the help of other designers and developers, we conducted multiple rounds of rapid-fire ideation based on the personas and specific user flows and issues.
Wireframes, prototyping, and usability testing
We submitted the existing app to usertesting.com and conducted in-person user testing with our prototype.
Homepage & project/profile editor
Search & filter
Plant ID & rescue
Conclusion
Improving the GrowIt! app presented a unique challenge since we were refining something that already existed and the client had attachment to certain features that had not been user tested. User research & usability testing were paramount to the success of our iteration.
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We delivered a product that was, by design, an improvement of existing app and made changes to features in order to achieve the goal of growing a community of people interested in plants. The client implemented many of the features and the app was much more successful.
The Team
Nick Kalmus
Bo Xi